KotOR: Sweet Sixteen
by DarthBubbles
Summary: Only sixteen years old, Seth Avery goes from unremarkable Republic private to savior of the galaxy. During his quest, he experiences the drama of war, forbidden love, shocking revelations, and the everyday life of being a teenager. Mission/OC
1. Havoc on the Spire

Seth Avery stifled a yawn and stretched out on his bunk in the _Endar Spire_. He groggily stepped out of bed and tugged on an old leather jacket and some jeans before heading into the bathroom. He splashed some cool water into his suntanned face to fully wake him up. Taking some gel, he carefully spiked his light brown hair into a perfect fauxhawk before heading to his commander on the bridge.

"Seth!" Officer Dannit barked as the boy joined his fellow pupils. A tall man with balding hair and a grey mustache, not to mention a crabby attitude, Dannit was made fun of by his students behind his back.

"Yes, Sir?"

"You're late."

"Yes Sir." Seth looked down.

"You could get kicked out of this class, and never become a soldier for the Republic."

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"Next time, get to class on time!"

"Yes sir."

Dannit then turned back to the class. "Now, I'll be taking you to the mission commander. She'll assign you to crew members to work with."

Seth turned to another classmate, a gangly boy named Iggy. "Mission Commander?"

"I heard she's a Jedi!" Iggy replied

"A Jedi? What are they doing on the ship?"

"I dunno. Go ask a Jedi. Top secret, that stuff is. Don't want loose lips givin' away their location to Malak I suppose."

The class moved down the hallway to their destination. A piece of paper was stuck to the door, and Seth squinted to see the writing scrawled on it.

DO NOT DISTURB! JEDI MEDITATION IN PROGRESS.

Seth rolled his eyes. Why anyone would want to sit still and think about peace and tranquility for hours, was unclear to him. He could barely sit still for five minutes.

"I guess we'll have to wait here until their session is over," Dannit said.

Seth frowned. He hated waiting. The first fifteen minutes went by, and no Jedi came out. Seth finally couldn't take it. "This is worthless!" he whispered to another boy in the class, Kalub. "I'm outta here! Come on!"

Kalub hesitated. "I dunno..." he said. "This seems pretty important."

"Come on! I've done this thousands of times! We won't get caught."

"What if the Jedi comes out and we're not there for the crew member assignments?"

"We'll just say we had to use the restroom."

"I'm not sure..."

"I'd hire a gizka over you if you was a merc! Let's go!"

"Well... ok," Kalub realized Seth wouldn't give up easily and he followed the other boy away from the class. They ran down the halls of the ship to the weapons training room. No one was in there, so the boys shot at targets and dueled for a while. After that, they ran out the door and back the way they came.

"We gotta get back fast before Officer Dannit realizes we're gone!" Seth said. At that moment, he ran into something and fell to the ground.

Looking up, he saw a strong looking man wearing an orange jacket and a pin with the Captain's insignia. He looked down at Seth with auburn eyes, and his dark brown bangs hung over one eye.

"Captain Onasi," Kalub gulped.

Onasi eyed the two boys. "Where are you trainees supposed to be? Classes started an hour ago."

Seth stood. "Bathroom, sir"

Onasi looked down at him skeptically. "The bathroom's that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

Seth started backing up, pulling Kalub in the same direction by his jacket collar. "Oh, well, I guess I better head that way... Good day, sir."

Onasi grabbed the two. "If you boys think you're fooling me, you're wrong. I've been at this for years, and I know a lie when I see one."

Seth said, "Sir, you technically wouldn't see a lie, you'd just-"

"Silent!"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's see if you still have to go to the bathroom when I contact Officer Dannit."

Dannit glared at Seth when he saw the boy sitting outside his office. "I just spoke with Captain Onasi," he said. "Avery, I didn't even have to hear your name to know it was you, but you, Kalub, I was very surprised. You're one of the quietest students in the class, why did you suddenly change? However it happened, the two of you are to work in steerage for the week, as punishment. 20 hour shifts."

"20 hours!" Seth exclaimed. "That's outrageous!"

"That's punishment."

Seth glanced at Kalub. The boy had been looking down the whole time, fingering the place where his private's badge could be lying right at the moment, if Seth hadn't talked him into leaving the class.

"Sir, don't punish Kalub. He has nothing to do with this. I forced him into leaving the class, and this whole thing is all on me, not him."

Kalub looked up, his eyes wide. Seth was _sticking up_ for him?

Commander Dannit looked thoughtful. He nodded at Kalub. "You're cleared. As for you, Avery, It takes a lot of guts to take all the blame to stick up for someone. You're off, too." Seth grinned. "Just," Dannit added, "don't do it again."

Seth nodded fervently and turned to leave. Dannit cleared his throat and Seth turned again, pasting on a smile. _This guy just loves to run his mouth,_ he thought.

"Here," the Officer said. He handed them each a datapad and a metallic item. Seth looked at the metal thing first, and realized it was a Private's badge. Seth beamed and pinned it to his leather jacket. He was now an official soldier of the Republic. He then regained his sense of calm and saluted."Thank you, sir," Seth said and left. Kalub stopped him just outside the door.

"Hey," he said, "Thanks."

Seth stuck out his hand, and Kalub shook it. "Sure. That's what friends do."

Kalub left with a smile and Seth read the datapad that Dannit had given him. It read:

RECRUIT: SETH AVERY

MEMBER ASSIGNED: TRASK ULGO

DORMITORY LOCATION: SECTION A, ROOM 12

Seth smiled. After months of preparing for this, he was finally ready to serve on the _Endar Spire,_ along with this 'Trask Ulgo,' who was hopefully more fun than Dannit was.

Trask Ulgo opened the door to his dormitory in the Endar Spire to see a teenage boy stacking things somewhat neatly into a footlocker. He smiled. "You must be Seth."

The boy turned and saluted quickly. "Yes, sir. Are you Trask Ulgo... sir?"

Trask chuckled. "Yeah, my name's Trask... not _Sir._ You don't gotta call me that, I'm just an Ensign. Not too much higher than you in rank. I usually call people sir, not the other way around, and it's sorta awkward. Just stick with Trask and I'll stick with Seth."

Seth grinned. "Got it... Trask."

"Well, lets see, I think I wanna learn more about you, Seth."

"Um, ok. I never knew my parents, I was taken away from them or something, I don't know much about it. I grew up on Nar Shaddaa half my life, then high tailed it to Coruscant after some... encounters back on the Smuggler's Moon. Then I signed p for the Republic Fleet... and here I am!" Seth grinned. "I just turned sixteen, last week... but I still don't have my pilot's license!"

"Oh, yeah!" Trask said as he suddenly remembered something. He tossed Seth a blaster pistol. The boy caught the weapon and examined it. On one side of the barrel, the Republic insignia was etched into the metal, the private's symbol on the other side. "I wish I could say it was a late birthday present, but all privates get one. Dannit just forgot to give it to you."

Seth smiled as he holstered the blaster. "Thanks! You're pretty cool, Trask."

"You're not that bad either, kid."

"So... when do we start our shift?"

Trask checked his chronometer. "Yikes! Looks like we spent too much time talking. We have five minutes to get our butts up to the bridge. Come on!"

With that, the two sped out of the dorm and to the bridge for their first assignment together.

Seth stumbled into his dormitory and pullet off his jacket, hanging it on a hook near the door. He was tired, and his muscles ached from loading cargo for five hours straight. He crawled into bed, hoping for at least an hour of sleep. That was all he got, for an explosion rocked him out of bed and onto the floor. He rubbed his eyes drowsily, and he wasn't quite aware of what was going on. Another explosion woke him up completely, and he stood quickly, looking around in bewilderment. Trask ran in, dressed head to toe in orange and gold Republic armor.

"Trask!" Seth yelled over the sound of alarms ringing throughout the ship. "What's going on?"

"Sith!" Trask gasped, fear evident in his eyes. "No time to explain, get your gear! We have to help Bastila!"

Seth didn't know who Bastila was, but she sounded pretty important, so he did as Trask told him to do, and pulled on his jacket, gloves and STEALTH belt.

The two ran down the halls of the Endar Spire, as quickly as they could go, heading for the bridge. They came upon a squad of Sith troopers , and Trask pulled Seth behind a wall. "There's too many of them for us to fight in the open," Trask said, "but if we stick behind this wall, then we can shoot them, but they can't shoot us. Watch..."

Trask peeked around the corner of the wall and aimed his blaster. He quickly pulled the trigger and spun back behind the wall again. There was a cry of pain that meant Trask had hit someone.

Seth smiled and repeated what Trask had done. "Like that?"

Trask nodded. "That's it!"

Seth grinned as he took down another Sith. Soon the halls were empty and the two continued to the bridge.

Once they got there, they found a few wounded Republic soldiers, and a lot of dead ones. The orange armor of the Republic and the silver armor of the Sith littered the floor of the bridge, and Seth carefully stepped over them. Trask bent down near a group of wounded soldiers and handed each of them a medpac. Soon, three others had joined them, and Trask had suggested that they go to the escape pods, as that was the likely spot that Bastila had gone. The new soldiers weren't too skilled, and two of them were from Seth's class. In fact, he was very surprised when the two had taken off their helmets and he was looking into the shy face of Kalub and the gangly face of Iggy.

They followed Trask to the corridor leading to the escape pods. There was a thud as they saw a Republic trooper smashed against a wall, dead. Trask suddenly shoved the others back. A tall man, bald and bearded, stood in the doorway. He snarled at them and brandished a red double bladed lightsaber. Seth took a step back, terrified. Trask stepped in front of them protectively. "Stay away from these guys," Trask growled. He pulled out a vibroblade. "Seth! Get these guys to the escape pods! You know the way! I'll hold him off!"

Seth's eyes widened. "Are you crazy, Trask? You'll get killed!"

"I... I know."

"But-"

"No." He shoved Seth back behind the door and started to close it.

"Trask!"

"See you on the other side..." Then he was gone.

Trask turned fearfully towards the Sith and held his vibroblade protectively in front of him. The Sith chuckled. "That was quite a display of bravery back there. And foolishness."

Trask eyed him warily.

"Well, I'm not up for killing someone who doesn't know who I am, so let's get acquainted, shall we?" the Sith continued. "I'm Darth Bandon, Malak's apprentice."

Trask said nothing.

"Don't have a name, do you?" Bandon asked with an evil smile. "No matter, I don't usually remember my victims' names, the numbers are countless and it wouldn't be good for my brain."

"Trask," Trask said tightly.

"Ah, so you do have a name," Bandon said. "Now we shall see how well you fight!" With that, he lunged toward Trask, who somehow managed to block the attack.

_Oh, please, let them have enough time!_ Trask prayed to himself as he prepared to block another attack.

This time, Bandon's attack hit home, slicing through Trask's torso. "You'll pay." Trask said as he closed his eyes. Red clouded his vision, and then he plunged into darkness forever.

Seth led the party through the deserted halls of the Endar Spire, occasionally stepping over a dead soldier or two. His emotions were hidden on the outside, but they raged within him. Seth found that he was extremely good at hiding his emotions. But he still could not stop them.

He heard a beeping noise and reached to pull his comlink out of his pocket. Carth Onasi appeared on the screen. "You three are the only ones alive on the Endar Spire! There's a clear path from where you are to the escape pods, but you have to get here before the Sith decide to blow this ship into nothing! I can't wait much longer!"

"Yes, Sir," was all Seth could think to say at the moment as he led the group on. Soon, he came to the escape pod bay, and Captain Onasi and Officer Dannit beckoned them in. They then sealed the doors behind them and turned to the three escape pods in their berths behind them.

"Okay," Onasi said. "Two to a pod. We'll rendezvous on the planet below if we can. Good luck, men." He then proceeded to help the soldiers into the pod. "You, with Dannit," he said to Kalub. "You two," he pointed at Iggy and the other trooper. After the other escape pods had launched, he turned to Seth. "You're with me."

Seth started to crawl into the pod, but Carth stopped him. "Trask?" the older man asked.

Seth shook his head sadly, and said nothing. He continued into the pod, and waited for Carth, who seemed to be taking one last look at the Spire. "Come on!" he said, and Carth climbed in and hit the launch button. Seth pressed his face to the viewport and saw the Spire explode behind him, magnificent colors of red and orange lighting up the sky. As they entered the planet's atmosphere, the pod heated up, and Seth tore his face away from the window. Then the pod slammed into the streets of Upper Taris, and Seth flew from his seat and hit his head on the inside of the pod. His vision blurred, and he could barely see Carth looking at him concernedly before everything turned to darkness.


	2. Taris' Warm Welcome

_There was a hiss as the lightsabers clashed, a fusion of red and yellow. There were streaks of light as the sabers whirled around to meet each other again in a different position. The wielder of the red lightsaber's face was hooded, and unseen. The woman holding the yellow saber, a Jedi, seemed to be only in her mid- twenties. But it would be a mistake to underestimate her, for her skill was nearly unmatchable, except for those of the highest ranks in the Order. Seth watched the battle from a third person viewpoint, as he found when he attempted to join the fight._

_So he watched as sparks flew into the air, as the combatants attacked and counter-attacked, until something caught his attention: a boy, no older than three, huddled in a corner behind the Dark Jedi at the head of the bridge, with a look of terror on his face. his light brown hair was short and spiky, and it made him look so innocent and helpless, that Seth tried to hurl himself onto the bridge and save the child before he got hurt. However, he had no success, and the child still looked terrified, casting fearful glances at everyone in the room. Seth looked at the scene angrily, seeing the four Jedi on the bridge do nothing about the child. The young Jedi cast down her opponent, and took a step forward. Then blackness faded in as Seth fell into unconsciousness. _

Carth looked up when he saw movement from the bed. The boy thrashed about, then fell still. Carth shrugged and looked back down at his datapad with information on Taris. A corrupt planet with a sharp division between the rich and poor, Taris was ranked pretty low compared to the other planets he'd seen. Carth sighed as he thought of the poor, living in dark, dank places beneath the surface of the planet, the rich occasionally coming down to mock them. The swoop gang wars only added to their suffering and the streets weren't safe, as they were the scenes of many murders. The veteran shook his head. The galaxy was a mess, and it would be nearly impossible to fix.

The teen stirred, and Carth looked up. His eyes opened and he blinked several times, getting accustomed to the light. He sat up abruptly and looked around in bewilderment. "What?" he said. "Where am I?"

Carth chuckled. The boy had extreme bed head, and it looked as if he had an afro. His head tilted slightly to one side as he inspected the Captain. He suddenly gasped with realization. "You're Captain Onasi!!"

Carth nodded with a smile. "Good, that will spare me the long introduction. Who are you?"

"Private Seth Avery," the boy stuck out a hand.

Carth shook it with a grin. "Seth. I like the name."

Seth grinned. "So, where am I, Sir? Last thing I remember I was on the _Endar Spire_."

"The Endar Spire was destroyed by the Sith," Carth said. "We barely escaped the explosion, and we crash landed here on Taris. You banged up your head pretty bad, but as luck would have it I wasn't hurt too badly. I dragged you away from the crash site and found this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith came along, we were nowhere to be found."

"Thanks, Captain. I owe you my life." Carth was surprised by the way he said the words. Teenagers would usually just shuffle their feet and stare at the floor while saying the words in a quiet voice, or would say it brashly and avoid eye contact. But this Teen was different. He said it strongly and looked Carth straight in the eye. And Carth _knew_ he meant it.

"It was nothing. I haven't abandoned a fellow soldier before, and I'm not gonna abandon one now. Anyways, I need your help."

"Anything you need, Sir," Seth saluted.

"Okay, first, I think that 'Sir' may get a little tiring after a while. We're gonna be together for a long time, so let's skip the formalities."

Seth nodded.

"Anyways, Bastila's on-planet too. We need to find her before the Sith do."

"Um, who's Bastila?"

"You don't know?" Carth's eyes widened.

"Oh, I know, I was just asking for the fun of it." Seth said, sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Bastila's a Jedi, and is the key to the Republic war effort. Without her, the Sith would've won a long time ago. She killed Revan, Malak's master, and has the talent of Battle Meditation, a rare power among Jedi that can turn the tide of a battle to the Republic's favor."

'Sounds pretty important."

"Exactly my point. Not to mention that she's the only way off Taris. So l- _we _need to find her."

"Only way off Taris?"

"Yes. The Sith have claimed rule of Taris, and have blockaded the planet. No one can get in-"

"-or out," Seth finished.

"Exactly. But Jedi have their ways, and I'm sure Bastila can help us."

"So, if we find Bastila, we get off this rock?"

Carth nodded.

"Okay, I'll help you."

Carth smiled. "Good, I get the feeling we'll need all the help we can get."

"One thing though," Seth said. "I saw from orbit that the planet's pretty big. How're we gonna find her?"

"I have to admit it won't be easy, but I'm sure that most escape pods landed in the same general section of the planet."

"Alright, then we should start soon, sir." Seth picked up his blaster from a nightstand and holstered it. He sheathed his sword (which he affectionately called Striker) and headed for the door.

"Hey, Seth," Carth said.

"Yes, sir?"

"Where are your parents?"

"I dunno. I know my Mom's dead, but I'm not sure about my dad."

"How do you know she's dead?"

"I don't really know, I was really little, but I feel an emptiness inside me. It's weird. Anyways, The Jedi found me and gave me to a guy named Jaq. He raised me (though I don't think he liked me at first) on Nar Shaddaa. He taught me the basic street smarts, you know, slicing into a computer, handling a blaster, getting past a door's security system, stuff like that. He was really cool, and I think he really started to like me, until he left to fight in the Mandalorian Wars. I never saw him again. He left me 2000 credits to get myself a transport to Coruscant, said it was safer there, so I was out of there on the first flight.

"I wanted to be like him, and enrolled in the Republic Academy on Coruscant. I went through the basic and advanced training, and in my junior year, I was assigned to the _Endar Spire_. You know the rest."

Carth nodded, taking in his words.

"Your turn, sir," Seth said.

"Oh, I don't think so."

"I just told my whole life story in a nutshell, sir! You could at least tell me something."

"I don't know if there's much to say. I... I hope you don't expect me to elaborate."

"Did I elaborate, sir? No. I don't expect you to go to the max."

"I've been a pilot for the Republic since before the Mandalorian Wars. I probably enrolled in the fleet around the time you were born. That was back when Revan and Malak were still Jedi."

"Jedi?"

"Yeah, those monsters were Jedi before the Wars. Anyway during the War, my homeworld..." Carth's voice trailed off.

"What about it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But-"

"Maybe Later, ok?" Carth snapped.

Seth took a step back. "Ok, maybe later then. Let's go, sir."

The boy opened the door and strode out, leaving Carth alone with his thoughts.

Seth's hand immediately flew to Striker's hilt. Standing with his back to him was a patrol clearly commissioned by the Sith. Two Duros cowered by the wall as the leader glared at them. "There was a patrol here yesterday!" one Duro said. "Why can't you leave us in peace?" The leader signaled to his droid backup. It shot the Duro, who fell to the ground. He then started to advance toward the other Duro before Seth lunged at the Sith, bringing Striker's strong blade through his chest. He quickly pulled it out and cleaved through the droids.

He wiped a droplet of sweat from his forehead and kneeled by the injured Duro. "You need a medpac, wait here."

Seth turned to get Carth, and found him leaning against the door frame to their apartment.

"You couldn't have helped, sir?" Seth nodded toward the smoking droids.

Carth smiled. "I came out when I heard the commotion. They were dead when I came. Besides, it looked like you could handle yourself."

Seth smiled. "Thanks. Anyway, this Duro needs help. Do you have a medpac?"

"Yeah," Carth dug in his pocket and pulled a healing pack out. He kneeled by the injured alien and injected the medpac. "That should stabilize your condition, but you should still see Zelka."

Both Duros nodded. "[Thank you]" they said in their native tongue.

"[No problem, you should go]" Seth replied in a crude form of their language.

"You know Duro," Carth said, "impressive."

Seth grinned. "Just barely, sir. I can speak quite a few though." Seth proceeded to name the languages he could speak as they walked, finishing once at the door of the cantina.

"That's a pretty extensive list of languages. Maybe you can be of some use to me. I was worried I'd be babysitting this whole time."

"Hey! I don't need a babysitter, sir! I'm sixteen and I can take care of myself!"

"Whoa, don't get mad! I was just making a joke. I'm glad to have you along!"

Seth shuffled his feet. "Thanks, sir. I've never really felt... wanted."

He followed Carth into the cantina. While it seemed Carth felt uncomfortable in the establishment, Seth couldn't feel any more at home. He saw a few people playing pazaak at tables, some crowding around screens set up in different places in the room, showing Holonet updates for the sector.

"Meet you later, sir!" Seth said, and he sped off through the cantina before Carth could reply. The older man jogged after the boy, rolling his eyes when he saw him ogling at the Twi'lek dancers in the music room. He left Seth there to find information, exploring the rest of the cantina.

Seth tapped his foot to the beat of the music and was soon break dancing causing a crowd to join and cheer him on. One of the dancers pulled him onto the stage and he spun and swayed like a pro. This was where he liked to be, the center of attention. He noticed Carth run into the room and smack his head with the palm of his hand. Seth didn't care. He was having fun.

Carth left the room to find some more information (he hadn't gotten far before he heard the commotion in the music lounge), wondering if he really _would_ have to baby-sit.

The song ended, and Seth hopped off the stage."... and he looks like one of them Core Worlders. He has Lower City style, but man, has he got moves!"

"Yeah, I wonder if he's a survivor of one of those Republic escape pods."

"Nah, he'd be stuck in the undercity. That's where all of 'em landed."

_Undercity?_ Seth's senses sharpened. He strained to hear the conversation.

"Didn't you see that one slam into the street two days ago? It's still there. He could've been in that one."

"The Sith were on that pod faster than hungry cannoks. He'd be dead if he was."

_'So the Sith want me dead?'_ Seth thought. _'What else is new?'_

"You're right. Probably came for supplies or the like, then got stuck here because of the quarantine."

Seth found Carth in the tap room, trying to get information from a spoiled noble youth, but failing miserably. "Having fun?" he asked.

Carth turned and gave Seth a look that said _What do you think?_

"Nice clothes," the noble scoffed. "What flea market did you buy them in?"

Seth looked unfazed. He shrugged. "The one down the street of course."

The noble laughed, still determined to give Seth a bad time. "Mmm... and you wouldn't have seen the larger, more fashionable store next to it?"

"Nope. Guess you didn't either."

The noble's face darkened. "Better not talk to me like that. I could tell Daddy."

"Daddy? Hm... I didn't know I was talking to _the _Daddy's little girl."

Fury started to become visible on her face. "At least _my _Daddy isn't a poor man concerned with those stupid Republic escape pods." She gestured towards Carth.

"Carth ain't my father. I don't got one!"

"Oh, that's why you wear what you wear. Don't have a father to support you."

Seth clenched his fists. "I'm no kid. I can take care of myself, you stuck up schutta." He said it quietly, but in a determined tone.

"How dare you speak to me like that? This won't be the last you see of me!"

She ran out furiously, and Seth still had his hands balled up into fists.

"Smooth," Carth said.

"Any information?"

"Nothing. You?"

Seth nodded. "Most of the escape pods, except for ours, landed in the Undercity."

"The Undercity?" Carth stroked his chin. "Interesting. Well, that gets us closer, but not much. It's a big planet."

"Well, they all probably landed in the same general vicinity. We're not gonna find one on the other side of Taris."

"True. But there are Sith guards everywhere, how are we gonna get down there, even into the Lower City?"

"They don't do any security checks unless they aren't wearing their uniforms. If we get the uniforms..."

"We get to Lower City," Carth finished.

Seth nodded. "You got it, sir."

Carth led the way into one of the apartment complexes of Taris. Right away he could tell there was trouble. A Sith stood guard next to a door from which came a scream of terror that could only come from an Aqualish. Seth's eyes widened and he glanced at Carth.

"Stay here," Carth said, and he started to move forward.

"Why? I want to help too!" Seth asked.

"It's too dangerous!"

"It's just as dangerous for you as it is for me!"

"No, it's not. I'm an experienced soldier and I've seen ten times as much combat as you."

Seth drew Striker. "That doesn't mean anything! I survived the Spire, didn't I?"

Carth sighed. "Fine. But don't get in the way, and retreat if it gets too rough."

Seth nodded. "Got it."


	3. Into the Undercity

**Into the Undercity**

Seth pulled the Sith uniform over his clothes. The Aqualish had left long ago, and the uniforms of the Sith they'd killed were left for the taking.

Not that it did any good. There wasn't a uniform that fit Seth, what with the pants extending up to his chest and the shirt fitting like a dress.

Luckily for Carth, one of the men was the exact same size as him, but the Republic soldier still shook with anger when he was forced to wear the clothes of his enemy.

"Ok, this isn't working," Seth said. "This doesn't make me look like a Sith."

Carth nodded. "You're right," he told Seth, or rather, the pile of uniforms on top of Seth. "We'll have to sneak you in somehow."

Seth scrambled out of the uniforms and grinned. "I have an idea!

Carth watched as Seth buckled on the STEALH belt. "Are you sure this will work?"

Seth flashed him a cocky grin. "Of course! I've been watching this guard. He's as aware as a bantha."

Carth still looked skeptical.

Seth tossed him the Sith helmet. "Come on! Trust me!"

"That's the problem," Carth muttered under his breath as he slipped the helmet on.

Seth activated the belt and Carth walked up to the soldier.

"Ah, another patrol, huh?" The soldier said. "Be careful. I hear the swoop gangs are dangerous."

Carth merely nodded and stepped into the now open elevator. Seth slipped in behind him and the two headed down into the Lower City.

* * *

"Vandar, we have received word that the _Endar Spire _has been destroyed."

"I know, Zhar," the little alien replied quietly. "Couldn't you feel it? The mass loss of life?"

"Master Vandar, you know I am not as powerful as you are. How could I feel it?"

"You are a Jedi Master nonetheless. Perhaps you should spend more time focusing on the Living Force."

"Do you believe Padawan Shan was killed?"

"No, I can feel that she's alive."

"What about... well, you know?"

"Hard to tell. He is not in tune with the Force, so locating him will be nigh impossible."

"We should have trained him."

"No, I'm afraid he is too arrogant for that. Unless we have no other choice, he will not be trained."

"As you wish, Master Vandar."

* * *

Seth stopped in his tracks and laid a hand on Striker. Something wasn't right. He felt danger coming.

Carth kept walking, unaware that his companion was several yards away.

Suddenly, with uncanny speed, Seth leapt forward. "STOP!" he screamed, and tackled the older man to the ground.

"What in the blazes was that for?" Carth breathed, shoving Seth off.

Seth nodded at the ground in front of them. There, just inches away from where they lay, was a camouflaged trip mine. If he had been any farther from where he was, Carth wouldn't have noticed it. He'd also be dead. It was hidden skillfully. Carth looked back at Seth. "Thanks."

Seth smiled and reached for the mine. In seconds, it was disabled. "Done!" He stood and followed Carth into a dimly lit cantina, and he once again found himself in the midst of a Twi'lek.

She was a blue Rutian Twi'lek, and wore street clothes. Her face was youthful and Seth guessed she was somewhere in the middle of fourteen and fifteen. A couple of Rodians wee talking with her, and the voices rose quickly. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" the Twi'lek cried.

Seth smiled. There was nothing that could impress a girl more that bravery. He swaggered up to the Rodians and gave one a shove. "She said to leave her alone."

"[And what are you going to do about it, little boy?]"

"Who you calling little boy, bug eye?"

"[It seems they both need a lesson!]" the other Rodian said. His partner nodded, and the two whipped out thier blasters.

Seth sent Striker cleaving through the first one in seconds, but he found that the other one was being held by the throat by a giant Wookiee. He instantly shrunk back. The Twi'lek girl shot at the head of the Rodian and the Wookiee dropped the corpse onto the ground.

"What, you scared of Wookiees or something?" she asked Seth.

"Nah, I ain't scared of those guys. Unless they're rabid."

The Twi'lek chuckled. "I've never seen you before. You new around here?"

"Yeah. I'm a," Seth lowered his voice to a whisper, "Republic soldier. I was in that space battle overhead."

She gasped. "Do you know how many arrest warrants and bounties are on your head? I sure won't collect any, 'cause I'm a friend of the Republic, and you kinda tired to save my life just now, but boy, are you in danger!"

"Well thanks then. Nice to know that this planet isn't all bad."

"Well, Taris isn't really that bad. I grew up here, you know?"

"I haven't seen its good side yet. But I'm sure I will."

"You will, don't worry. I'm Mission Vao. And this is my best friend Zaalbar." She motioned to the Wookiee, who grunted a curt hello.

"Private Seth Avery at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Seth."

"Likewise."

They stood quietly for a few moments before Seth spoke up. "You guys want anything to drink?" He counted his credits.

"[YES!!]" Zaalbar said.

Mission stole a glance at her chronometer. "I don't think we have time. We're going to talk with Gadon about something at the Bek base."

"Who's Gadon?"

"He's the leader of the Hidden Bek Gang."

"Are they the ones who have been reportedly shooting people out on the streets?"

"No! Those are the Black Vulkars. Don't even get me started on those guys!" Seth noticed that her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Just asking!" Seth held his hands up in a gesture of defense. "Can you help us get into the Undercity?"

"I'm sure Gadon will know. Come on! you can come with us!" Mission grabbed Seth's hand and pulled him toward the door. For some unknown reason, Seth felt very satisfied to have her hand clasped in his, even if it was gloved.

"Follow us!" he mouthed to Carth before the cantina doors shut behind them.

* * *

"Bastila's a slave? We gotta get in there and rescue her!" Carth cried.

Gadon Thek shook his dark skinned head. "She's not at the base, she's too valuable. It's impossible to locate her."

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Seth slammed his fist on the table.

"The only thing I can think of is for one of you to somehow win the big Swoop Race coming up. If you win it, you'll win your friend's freedom."

"Swoop Race?" Seth asked. "What is that? And what does it got to do with Bastila?"

Mission stepped forward. "The Season Opener Swoop Race is the biggest race on Taris. _All_ the gangs participate, and the winner gets prizes from all the gangs. The winner for the past five years had been... well, the Vulkars, but that's gonna change this year!"

"And your friend Bastila is the Vulkars' share of the prize. They want to win over the smaller gangs."

"This just keeps getting better. How do we win the race?" Carth asked

"Well, first, you need to be sponsored by a gang. I can sponsor you, but you'll have to do something for me first."

"Who saw that coming?" Seth rolled his eyes.

"What do you want?" Carth asked.

"My engineers were creating a swoop accelerator, one that would make sure we would win the race. The Vulkars found out, and well, they stole it. They plan on using it in the race this year. You have to get it back!"

"What!?!" Seth exclaimed. "I've seen the Vulkar base, Gadon, and if you expect us to get in there, you're crazy. That place is locked up tight!"

"The back door isn't," Mission said quietly.

* * *

Mission handed the papers that Gadon had given them to the guard at the elevator. After he went through them a couple of times, she, Seth, Carth, and Zaalbar were waved through.

The elevator was exceptionally large, and the ride down was very long. Seth was leaning against the side of the elevator and sharpening his sword. It was double edged, and it looked as though he polished it every day, which was, as Mission would eventually find out, the case.

"Nice sword," she said, trying to start a conversation.

"Thanks."

"How'd you get it?"

Seth looked up at her, and she was amazed at how beautiful his green eyes were. "It was my father's."

"Oh, Where is your father?"

"Dead. Along with my mother."

"I'm sorry. My parents are dead too."

"I was too young to remember anyways."

"Same here."

"So what's your story?"

"I found Zaalbar in trouble with some Vulkars one time. I got really mad at them, pretty much saw red. Anyway, I screamed, "Leave him alone you core slimes!!" and I charged at them. One of them nearly knocked me out!"

"Smooth."

"Oh, shut up. Anyway, Zaalbar wasn't too happy with their slapping me around, and he gave a big wookiee roar. The Vulkars screamed and ran off. Ever since then, we've been a team."

"And a pretty darn good one too."

Mission laughed."Thanks... Well, it's your turn. How'd you team up with Carth?"

"We served together on the _Endar Spire_, you know, the ship that blew up a few days ago?"

Mission nodded.

"We were the last crew members on the _Spire_ that hadn't either died or already launched an escape pod. So we were stuck in a pod together and I was knocked out during the crash. Carth dragged me to an apartment that he'd found and since then, we've been on this mad quest for Bastila 'cause she's the only hope for the Republic."

"Heh, and you're willing to go to the Undercity to find her? She, uh... must mean a lot to you."

"Not really. I barely know her. But Someone's gotta get us off Taris, and she's our best bet."

The elevator stopped suddenly and Carth and Seth fell down, not used to it as Mission and Zaalbar were. The sight of beggars let them know that they were in the Undercity.


	4. Break In

Seth hated rakghouls. The twisted face, hunched back, mucus covered body and completely soulless black eyes, it was hard to believe that these slavering, shrieking abominations had actually been sentient.

And they also had a nasty fetish for attacking outcasts, as one was demonstrating now.

Seth wanted to help the man on the other side of the gate, begging for the gates to be opened. Behind him were the silhouettes of an advancing rakghoul. Seth's demands for the gate to be opened fell on deaf ears, even with the man's wife, he presumed, sobbing for the guard to listen to him.

But the guard was adamant in his refusal and no one, especially a teenager, was going to change his mind.

Then Seth simply decided to take matters into his own hands. Shoving past the cowardly gate keeper, he took out his blaster and aimed it through the steel grid pattern of the gate.

"Get down." He ordered the man, who quickly complied, wedging himself into the corner of the gate.

The rakghoul stepped into the light. Seth had to fight hard to keep his rather generous meal down. The many stories of horror and violence, though accurate, could not have prepared him for this moment.

It had the hunched back and slimy body he had been told about, but the face was one of the sights that would haunt him for the rest of his life. On one side it was a twisted beast, but on the other it was still distinctly human and what probably used to be a handsome one at that. But now the eyes were wild with a mindless, savage hunger and the mouth full of black needle-like teeth was twisted into a hideous grin, pale green saliva dripping from its maw.

Seeing it's prey cornered, it let out a undulating cry of triumph and threw itself into a rough gallop.

Seth fired his pistol, but the shot went wide due to the erratic movements of the creature. But the shot did draw its attention away from the Outcast, it was now charging straight at the gate.

Fighting panic, Seth stilled his shaking hand and held his breath. Following the sniping instructions he received in basic, he let the target come into his sights, rather than trying to put it on it.

Seth fired once. Twice. Three shots were delivered dead center to the target. The Rakghoul's momentum still carried it right up to the gate. For a moment Seth was face to face with the beast before its dead body fell to the ground and lay still.

Seth released the breath he held been holding and turned to the gaping gate keeper.

"How about now?" he asked, his sense of humor intact even through the most stressful situations.

The keeper nodded numbly, stunned by the skill he had just witnessed and threw the lever to lower the gate.

The Outcast on the outside ran to his wife and embraced her tightly, both were weeping with relief.

The woman looked up tearfully into the mans eyes. "H-Hendar I... I..." Hendar interrupted her place leaning in and kissing her passionately.

Seth averted his eyes, embarrassed. He felt as if he was intruding on these two.

Just before Seth was going to try to get their attention, they broke their kiss and turned to him.

It was the woman who spoke first. "Thank you... if you hadn't of killed that.._ thing _I don't know what I... I..." she could not continue, overcome with emotion, she began crying into Hendar's shoulder.

Then Hendar spoke. "As Hester said, I owe you my life, death would have been a mercy if you hadn't killed that thing! If I had anything more than the clothes on my back they would be yours. I only wish I had half of your courage."

Seth shrugged modestly. "It's what I do."

Hester dried her eyes and looked back up to Hendar's face. "Come Hendar, let's get back to the village."

The couples started walking towards the collection of makeshift huts and tents.

"Hey wait!" Seth called after them. They turned back to face him and he tossed something to Hendar. "For you two."

They both stared in pure awe at the fifty credits in the palm of Hendar's hand.

* * *

Mission had to admire her new friend, who had not only felled a charging Rakghoul and had asked for no reward but instead gave money to whom he had saved.

_'A good person if I ever met one, too few of them around here.' _Mission reminisced, the thought also bringing up her own lack of charitable acts. And from the sound of Hester's voice, even clothes on Hendar's back would soon be gone. _'Well I've just never had the money to do random donations!... Great now I sound like-' _Mission cut her own thoughts off. She did not have time to think about Griff now. No time to start going off about that schutta either. She would deal with those problems when the time came, not before.

She looked over to Seth, who at the moment was using his studiously polished and shined datapad as a mirror to fix his slightly messed up fauxhawk.

_'A real stickler for perfectionism that one... but cute.' _Mission mentally slapped herself. She was in the Undercity. Of the more appropriate places to start developing a crush on someone, she did not think this was one of them. Given this was one of the better areas in the Undercity, opposed to the rakghoul infested areas beyond the safety of the ancient duracrete walls.

She looked over to Carth, who was also watching Seth with no small amount of amusement. "Are we gonna get going? If we're going into the sewers we might as well get it over with."

Carth shrugged. "Well if Mister Beauty-Queen over there ever finishes up over there, then..."

"Hey!" Seth was scowling at Carth. "I worked darn hard on this thing sir!" he asked, gesturing to his hair.

Carth shook his head. "When a rakghoul tries to kill you, chances are that your hair will be slightly less than perfect afterwards. You can finish fixing it later. And I've told you not to call me sir."

Seth rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry sir. It's what I do. Hey Mish, where are we going exactly?"

_'Mish? I like it. He picked a better nickname than "Mishy" ugh'_ Mission repressed her thoughts again to reply. "The lower sewers, there's an entrance nearby and if we move quickly and quietly, we probably won't encounter any more rakghouls."

Seth winced. "Does it have to be the sewers?"

"Do you want to get into the Vulkar base?"

"Yeeeah." he replied slowly.

"Well then you have to get through the sewers."

"Why is it that the bad guys always have to put their back doors in places like the sewers? Why can't they put them somewhere nice for a change??"

Mission grinned maliciously. "Because if they did that, then the dashing heroes wouldn't get to avoid stepping in... certain things."

Seth groaned.

* * *

The stench of the sewers assaulted Seth's nostrils. It was one of the worst scents that the boy had smelled in his young life, aside from witnessing mynock reproduction for an eight grade report. To this day he could not stand the smell of concentrated garlic, it was too similar.

This time though, he doubted he would find a match for this smell in any food he would eat.

He forced himself to breath through his mouth, it did not help much, it was like he could taste the air around him as well. The urge to vomit came back with a vengeance.

Mission, who was leading the way, stopped suddenly and went rigid.

"What's wro..." he trailed off. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He jumped and tackled Mission to the ground. "GET DOWN!" he screamed at the others.

Carth and Zaalbar flattened themselves against the floor just as an explosion thundered in the air right above them.

Mission was about to thank Seth but he and Carth had already risen and were sprinting down the hall, Seth clutching Striker and Carth his blasters.

Mission saw it; a Gammorean standing at the end of the hall hefting a grenade launcher, which the pig like alien proceeded to fire again.

The grenade did not get far on account of Carth blasting it in midair. However, the detonation did cause them both to reel back from the concussion. Seth, not wanting to let the Gammorean have another shot at them, threw Striker at it. The blade hit it directly in the torso, causing it to drop to it's stubby knees, squealing in pain and spraying viscous green blood on the floor.

Running up to the squirming alien, Seth pulled out his blaster and shot it again and it stilled.

The others came up to him. Carth clapped him on the back. "Not bad Private, not bad at all."

Seth grinned. "Thank you sir. But we should probably keep moving, fighting rakghouls in here would be a nightmare."

Mission stepped forward. "You're right, the entrance is close anyway."

They continued on, this time with their pathfinder Mission leading the way with Carth and Seth close behind her, scanning the shadows for more Gammoreans and Zaalbar acting as rear guard armed with two vibroswords.

For the next half hour, they trudged through the dripping and creaking tunnels, all of them on the alert for any rakghouls or Gammorean ambushes. It was Mission who finally broke the tense silence. "Uhh, hey Seth? How did you end up joining the Republic Army?"

Seth shrugged. "I was just drafted. My stand in Father had joined the Republic fleet in the Mandalore Wars, and I wanted to be like him, so I didn't take it as hard as my friends did."

"Well I guess so, but how did you get enlisted so... so... uhh,"

"So young?"

Mission twiddled with her lekku, embarrassed. "Uhh well um, sorry if I offended you, I hate it when people start talking about my age too."

Seth waved his arm dismissively. "Nah it's okay Mish, I got over that issue a long time ago. I got used to it you might say, of course the constant "You're all just brats fresh off the teat" dressing-downs I got from the drill Sergeants might have-" he looked back at Mission apologetically. "I guess I've gotten a little off topic."

She shrugged. "That's okay, I can get a little long winded myself."

Seth continued. "Well first off; the Republic needs all the help they can get. So on the more densely populated Outer Rim planets, the recruiters were ordered to lower the bar for minimum draft age, so me and my friends quickly found ourselves on transports to various boot camps.

"Fortunately most of my friends and I were sent to the same camp, I don't think I could have made it through if it weren't for that fact. The drill sergeants gave no quarter in basic training, I believe thy called it; "making men out of us mamma's boys" I remember this one sergeant, a real hard-nosed son of a vorrok, he seemed to take a certain satisfaction from running _me _into the ground.

"But now just months later here I am, slogging through the crud and muck straight from the rich and noble backside of the great planet Taris."

Mission grimaced. "Ouch, what were your parents like? You know when you got shipped out? They must have been hysterical."

Seth shrugged. "Actually I don't have any parents, but you pretty much nail it with the others, the recruiters often had to get a written order to "turn over their child into military custody"," he shuddered. "One sight I hope to never see again is the one of hundreds of weeping mothers and fathers saying goodbye to their sons. It's stuck with me for nearly two years."

Once again silence settled on the group. Carth looked over at Seth with sympathy, the boy had the carefree and wild time of adolescence cut off prematurely short, forced into the world of turmoil and darkness that is war.

Soon after Seth's monologue, the hallway ahead of the was cast with a shifting purple light, like sun rays filtering through water. Turning the corner, they came upon a large energy shield. It stretched all across the hallway, completely cutting off their route.

Carth glanced back at Mission. "And I assume this would be?"

She grinned. "The back door into the Vulkar base."

"Well then, you should probably get to work." Seth jerked his head toward the control panel on the side of the shimmering barrier.

The Twi'lek nodded and set to work punching an elaborate series of numbers into it. Nothing happened, she frowned and repeated the code more carefully this time. Still nothing.

"Aw bloody-" she punched the panel.

"What's the problem?" Seth asked.

Mission threw her hands in the air in frustration. "The code I have doesn't work anymore! They must of changed it or something..."

Seth started pacing, thinking. Suddenly he perked up. "I've got an idea!"

"Wha-" Mission's query was cut off by Seth pulling out his blaster and shooting the offending panel.

The barrier rippled for a few seconds before fading away.

A grin spread across Mission's face as she looked into the long dark hall that was now open to them. "Good thinking."

Seth grinned back at her. "It's what I do."

* * *

Carth stared dumbly at the sight before him; a rancor crouched in the far end of the vault like room they had come to, and it was right in front of the heavy metal blast door that lead to the Vulkar compound.

"And when I wonder, were you going to deign to tell us that there is a freaking _rancor _guarding the back door?" he asked tersely.

Mission's cheeks went a deep purple. "Umm... surprise?" she said hopefully.

Carth sighed exasperatedly. Once again, it was Seth who came forward with an idea. He turned started walking back up the ramp they had come down, beckoning the others to follow.

They went to a corpse of a Gammorean they had run across earlier and by the looks of him, had been killed a few days ago.

"Okay, here's the plan; we take Chubby here, put a mine on him, toss him into the rancor's pen and let it's hunger do the work for us."

Carth scratched his chin, considering Seth's plan. "Could be a bit messy."

Seth stared incredulously at him. "We've been slogging through rakghouls, pigs with axes and the crud and used Tarisan ale of the city above us, I can't quite see this getting any messier." He retorted.

A few minutes later they were dragging along a Gammorean corpse with a plasma mine stuffed in it's mouth. A fact that Carth was rather disturbed that he found funny. And then, after enlisting the help of the legendary strength of the Wookiees, they tossed it into the waiting rancor's metal lair.

The rancor reacted almost immediately to the new meat it was offered, it stumbled forwards, possessing an excellent sense of smell to compensate for it's poor eyesight. When it came to the Gammorean corpse, it wasted no time in devouring it, mine and all, in less than ten seconds.

Seeing this, Seth ducked behind the door with the others and hit the detonation button on his remote. There was a muffled boom followed by the tremors of a huge beast hitting the durasteel floor.

The group emerged from their hiding place and saw that the rancor had indeed been killed. Seth approached it's still gaping maw. Reaching out and ignoring the deterrent of the smell of flash cooked meat, he managed to wrestle out one of the rancor's large front teeth.

He tossed the fang up and down a few times before putting it in his backpack. He had a feeling it might come in handy later.

He ran to rejoin the others at the blast door Mission was currently hacking. With a small victorious yell from her, the door slid open... to reveal two Vulkar guards behind it.

The startled guards reached for their weapons but did not get them out in time to stop Carth and Seth shooting them in the head. Their now headless bodies slumped to the floor, revealing an elevator behind them. Seth opened the door to it and they entered it.

They were in.

* * *

"Carth are you sure the elevator to the lower level is around here?" Mission asked. They had been wandering around for almost half an hour without success.

Carth studied the datapad that Seth had downloaded the map of the compound onto. "Well this thing is pretty complex, I think we may have taken a few wrong turns..."

Seth sighed, also tired of fruitlessly wandering. "You think? It seems to me that you might... might..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" Carth and Mission asked in unison.

He stood there for a few seconds without answering, sniffing the air instead. And then he suddenly turned and sprinted into a passage perpendicular to the one they were in. They all pursued him, however difficult it was. Often they could barely see his form turning the corners at a breakneck speed.

Mission was flagging and Zaalbar was beginning to breathe heavily when Seth turned one more corner and a blaster shot rang out. Fearing the worst, Carth cautiously poked his head around the corner. The sight that greeted him was what looked like a kitchen with a smoking guard droid chassis lying on the floor and Seth at one of the counters with a large nerfbuger poised at his gaping mouth.

"Ahem."

"What's wrong sir?" Seth asked, the burger still just in front of his teeth.

"What is that?"

"I believe it's still called 'lunch' sir." He then proceeded to take a barbaric bite out of it.

While Carth slapped his palm against his forehead, Mission laughed hysterically.

"We are in enemy territory with a specific objective in mind Private, is eating the only thing that comes to mind right now?"

Seth put up a hand defensively. "I'm a growing young man sir, I need nourishment!" still holding the now quarter eaten nerfburger, he turned to four more of them lying on the counter in front of him covered in thermo foil and began to stuff them in his backpack for later.

"Private, we have to keep moving, that's an order."

He sighed. "Yes sir."

* * *

"Did you have to get five of them?" Mission asked Seth some time later. They had found the elevator to the garage and were now picking through the various rooms in the lower level, searching for the security storage room as it was marked on the map.

"Probably, once I got some caffa on the drill chiefs shirt and I didn't get any food for the rest of the day and come the next morning I found myself devouring a good quarter of the rations provided for the recruits, I think that the cooks were more impressed than anything else."

"Alright," Carth interrupted. "Barring any unforeseen map misunderstandings, the security storage room should be riiiigghht... Here!" he punched the button to open the heavy door they had come to.

The room beyond held not only the prototype accelerator on a workbench in the back of the room but also about six Vulkars guarding it.

Seth sighed and looked over to Carth. "Are things always this complicated?"

"Yeah pretty much."

* * *

Seth heaved the pack over his shoulder, the contents he discovered, were unbelievably heavy.

"Tell me again sir, why was I the one elected to carry this thing?" he asked Carth who was at the moment leading the group.

A smile flickered across Carth's face. "Well, you're a growing young man, you need exercise."

Seth grunted. "Well I'll also probably benefit later in life from not having my back broken! Seriously, it feels like its about to telescope!"

"Oh come on, its not _that_ heavy."

"Yeah? Do you want to carry this sir?"

"No not really, thanks for the offer though."

When they did reach the entrance to the Bek base, it was all Seth could do to not just drag the accelerator behind him. The greeting they received from the guard at the door was much different than the one they had gotten on their first visit, the woman was actually smiling. Evidently she knew what was in the bag. Without having to be prompted, she opened the door for them.

The news of their success spread quickly, once inside they were surrounded by ecstatic Beks who all seemed to want to shake their hand, clap them on the back or in Seth and Mission's case, just start hugging the breath out of them.

Carth was finding their situation quite funny, until a female Twi'lek started to fling herself at him, uncomfortable was the only word that was appropriate for that particular scenario.

It took them almost ten minutes to muscle their way through the throng of Beks and in to Gadon's office. Once inside, Seth dumped his burden onto the desk of the gang leader and proceeded to collapse on top of it, breathing heavily.

"Next time sir, you can have the honor of carrying it." he gasped.

Gadon reached into the bag and pulled out the cylindrical object. "Nice work," he praised them. "I'll get my mechanics installing this on our swoop right away." He passed the accelerator to Zaerdra who carried it out of the office.

"Now about our deal, Gadon,"

"Right. I promised I'd let you ride in the swoop race and I never go back on my word. And I'll even go one better, you're going to ride the swoop with the prototype accelerator on it!"

Seth stared at Gadon incredulously. "My alarm for ulterior motives is going off, if I were in you position I'd have my best rider on that bike, so that means there must be a catch, out with it."

Gadon smiled. "Don't worry yourself, as a gang leader you learn to trust your instincts, and you have the look and feel of a racer about you. While you don't have time to practice, you can at least get a feel for the kind of bike you'll be riding." he turned his head towards Mission. "Take him down to the maintenance bay and tell Tor-Fy to give him the basics."

"Can I stay and watch?" she asked hopefully. "I've never actually seen the inside of a swoop bike."

"You can stay Mission, just don't go wandering off, you're not a Bek yet."

Mission folded her arms and scowled. "I don't think I'll ever be." she muttered under her breath, recalling the conversation she had with Kandon Ark before she killed him.

Gadon turned to Carth and Zaalbar. "And if you two could assist with our other preparations for the race..."

"We're here to help." Carth agreed."Thank you, we'll need all the help we can get."

The two turned to leave, but Carth turned around. "Seth is right. You have to be crazy to just let some inexperienced teenager take over your best bike. What's going on here?"

Gadon sighed. "I won't lie to you, we never had time to totally eliminate the instability in the-"

Carth cut him off. "Bottom line please."

"Alright, there is a chance that it could overheat and explode if you push it to hard during the race."

Carth saw red. "So you just let a… _boy_ attempt to race a bike that could blow his still youthful arse to kingdom come?"

Gadon was still calm. "My mechanics are working on the accelerator's stability as we speak. It should be at least a bit safer in the morning. Besides, what other choice to you have?"

"I could ride the bike! I have nothing left to live for anyways except for revenge, and Seth isn't even a man yet!"

"What about your Republic? No human could ever win a race without being Force-Sensitive."

Carth frowned for a moment, but then his eyes went wide with realization. "You… Seth!"

Gadon nodded. "The boy can control the Force. I have never seen one so strong, even when I was a Jedi."

"One more thing," Gadon added. "Don't tell the boy. Not about the accelerator, and certainly not the Force. He cannot be distracted tomorrow."

Carth nodded. Seth was the Republic's only hope now.

* * *

Seth followed Mission down to the garage. They descended the stairs and hallways leading into the bowels of the Bek base. The air around them seemed much more moist than the air in the surface. When he asked Mission she had told him that this used to be a water purification plant before it was bypassed by the direct purifiers placed at sea water intake pipes. Even afterwards water still ran through the pipes in the walls and that was the reason for the condition of the air in the lower levels. But there were advantages to this arrangement, such as since they had no problem obtaining cleaning water, they did not have a pest problem that plagued most of the lower city.

They reached the maintenance bay they were greeted by a Rodian wearing grease stained coveralls. As Mission conversed with the alien, Seth studied the bay around him.

Swoop bikes lined the walls, some had their engine components exposed, others simply sat there, waiting to be serviced. Tools were also everywhere, on the many workbenches, on the floor and occasionally a wrench was still clenched to an engine component. Kalub and Iggy would have loved it here, they used to go mess with the small speeders the drill instructors used in their spare time. Seth wondered what happened to them. He wondered if they were even still boy was shook from his thoughts as Mission and the Rodian came over.

"This is Tor-Fy," Mission said. "She's the head mechanic here. Tor-Fy, this is Seth Avery."

Seth stuck out his hand and the Rodian shook it, he was surprised at how firm her grip was. "[I suppose you want to get started then?]" she asked.

Seth nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Tor-Fy nodded. "[Good. But tell me, have you ever piloted anything before?]"

Seth nodded vigorusly. "Yeah, but I've only been given the basics, though my CO said I had a knack for it, I was first in my class."

"[That will help you, a swoop bike's controls are similar to a starfighters, minus the weapons systems of course.]" she gestured to the bike behind her. "[Get in, let's see how good you are.]"

Seth climbed in the open cockpit of the swoop and started familiarizing himself with the controls. The Rodian was right; the basic layout was almost identical to a starfighter's, though it did have a few extra controls, such as a shift stick, which, of course, was not needed for a starfighter due to the insertation of a hyperdrive. He started up the engine, but because of the magnetic field Tor-Fy had put in place, it went nowhere, so Seth could get used to the bike without having to take it out onto the street. He turned the steering mechanism right and the bike leaned to the right. He pushed down on the accelerator with his foot and the engine revved . Then he tested the braking flaps, the worked, opening out on either side of him. It was not the hands on training he would have liked but it would have to do.

He let the engine idle for Tor-Fy to come over. "[So, what do think?]"

"Does it come in black?"

* * *

Note: Many thanks to my super amazing beta reader Triple E(KFM) aka IndigoWolfe(dA), who is responisble for 99% of the awesomeness in this chapter, I believe. You rock!


	5. The Pits

There really was no 'crack of dawn' in the Lower City, on account of the huge buildings towering all around them. Someone who was in the Upper City would be able to make out the telltale pink horizon signaling of the coming sun, but down here, it would be a few more hours before the any rays of sunlight filtered down. It was like the upper towers were miserly trying hoard all the sunlight away for themselves, in that regard, they matched perfectly with most of the Upper City's inhabitants.

Mission chuckled quietly as she watched the mechanics push Seth's swoop bike into it's respective place in the pits with the rest of the Bek bikes. Seth wasn't kidding when he said he wanted his swoop in black, and fortunately, he got it. Gadon had his painters --a must for any racing team-- work on it through the night. It was now pitch black, except for streaks of orange and yellow lightning running down the bike's two pontoons from the engines. Also, ninety-five --the bike's number-- was superimposed over the twin bolts. It would fit in with the other bikes just fine. The only difference was if one were to closely inspect it; they would find cylindrical canister, small by comparison, hooked up near the main engine. The prototype accelerator. The one thing that could give Seth a chance of winning the coming race. It was also the thing that could explode at any time during that race, killing the driver. Gadon had tried to reassure her that there was only the smallest of chances it would, but it still boiled down to that one fact: it could.

Her mind coming back to the reason she had come down here, Mission cast her head about, eyes searching for him. She hadn't seen him all day. She had been woken back at the Bek base and learned that he had already left for the track. When they had arrived at the stadium, she left Carth and Zaalbar who were reserving their seats to come down here and look for Seth.

She spotted their fearless rookie pilot lying on some crates storing spare parts for the swoops on the far side on the Bek's pit area. When she came closer, she saw that he was sleeping, not quite snoring but still breathing loudly. He had shrugged off his standard issue gray vest and heavy shirt and was now wearing a tight fitting white tank top. She had wanted to talk to him, but now she was unwilling to wake him. He had a lot of pressure on him, so he was entitled to a bit of sleep.  
As she stood there, watching over him, she also noticed that Seth was in pretty good shape as well. His chest and arms bore plenty of well toned muscles, unlike most boys his age who were still rather gangly.

No, as he had told her, he wasn't just another teenager any more, he was a soldier. She wondered if he had seen any combat, not just with the skirmishes they had dealt with in the Under City and the Vulkar base. But battles she had heard stories about from the few war veterans among the Beks. With the explosions going off all around you, the blaster fire wizzing right past your head, the blood, the death and the uncertainty whether you would live or die. She wondered if he had seen friends killed.

Seth's eyes suddenly snapped open, sitting stock straight up in less than a second. Mission jumped with this sudden movement, then blushed as she realized her eyes had been roving over his body a bit too long.

"Oh sorry, trained instinct," he sheepishly apologized when he noticed the blue Twi'lek.

Mission shook her head, trying to pretend that this embarrassing moment hadn't happened. Maybe he wouldn't notice. "Nah, it's okay. Listen, I wanted to talk to you,"

He quirked an eyebrow. "About what? Trying not to get my hide blown into orbit? Yeah, I think the Captain already covered that,"

Mission smiled. "No, was actually... well, okay I guess that was the general message,"

Seth nodded knowingly, but sighed. "I told you guys, I can do this. You don't need to work yourself into such a fuss,"

She looked taken aback. "I am not 'working myself into a fuss'! I just wanted to make sure you'll be careful."

Another sigh. "All right, I'll be careful and do my best not to get myself killed."

Mission crossed her arms over her chest and looked critically down at Seth. "Actually I was talking about the bike, be careful not to mess up the paint job, it looks nice," she deadpanned.

He grinned. "Alright fine, I swear by my unparalleled collection of Hevlettica Core-World Tour data disks that I won't scratch the paint job. Oh wait... I guess that kinda went up with the Endar Spire," displeasure twisted Seth's face. "Dang."

"Hevlettica?" Mission asked, suppressing a laugh about Seth's sudden revelation.

"Only the best Mythic-Metal band ever, but anyway..." he pushed himself off the crates. "So, what are the crowds like at the races?"

"Well at the season opener they get pretty excited," Mission gestured to the empty grandstands around them. "In about two hours these seats will be full up with screaming fans and there will be millions more watching in the cantinas or wherever the live feed is shown. And did I mention that they're pretty freaking excited about you?"

Seth looked suddenly flattered. "Why would that be?"

Mission's face on the other hand, was dead serious. "Because humans don't race swoops, the few who have tried didn't have a fast enough response time and ended up in pieces all over the track. The crowd loves crashes, and you've been unanimously voted to have the most spectacular one."

All traces of humor on Seth's features were wiped away completely with Mission's statement. "I see."

"Look, you don't have to do this, I'm sure Gadon will understand, he can get another one of his riders..." Mission trailed off. Worry had returned to her tone.

Seth locked his cool blue eyes directly with hers. "Yes," he said, his voice steely. "I do."

Mission gave him a smile and reached into her pocket, pulling something out. "Here, Carth wanted me to give you this."

She handed him what looked like a small winged silver star attached to a thin chain. "It's a pilots good luck charm, he said he wore it on his flight exam, he passed flying colors."

Seth considered the charm for a moment, then slipped it around his neck. "Thanks."

A call sounded from across the garage, Seth turned his head and saw Zaerdra, who was among the other bikes and his fellow Bek riders insistently waving him over.

Seth turned his head back to Mission. "Sorry, gotta go."

She nodded. "Good luck. We'll be cheering for you," she clapped him on the shoulder lightly and with that she turned and started walking towards the exit to reunite with Zaalbar and Carth up in the grandstands.

Seth watched her go for a few seconds, then turned himself and jogged over to join Gadon's bodyguard.

Zaerdra looked Seth up and down with an appraising eye. "We first thing's first, we're going to have to get a jumpsuit for you," she put a hand on her chin, considering his physique.

"He could use Kyudjai's suit," A blue female Twi'lek rider offered. "It should fit him."

"Do you think he will mind?" Seth asked Zaerdra.

She gave him a look. "Dead men usually don't. The Vulkars killed him outside Javyyar's Cantina five days ago."

"Oh," Seth gulped uncomfortably.

"And that's another thing, watch your back on the track, the Vulkars will probably try to knock your bike into the wall and into our other riders."

"Okay, this just keeps getting better and better, don't it?"

Zaerdra ignored his sarcasm. "But be sure to return the favor when they do try, and preferably you try it before they do, that's the best way to make sure."

"So, watch out for the other riders attempts to kill me, but try to do them in as well and all the while trying not to get blown into a thousand pieces by my own engines."

She nodded. "In a nutshell; yes."

Seth's head fell back. "Well this sucks." he pronounced to no one in particular.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nearly an hour and half later, Seth was sitting in the cockpit of his swoop. His new racing jumpsuit was rather comfortable. It was a dark grey with red highlighting along the chest, sleeves and legs. The Hidden Bek emblem was proudly displayed on the front and back.

By now spectators had begun arriving. The other gang's racing teams had arrived much earlier. A line of guard droids kept the team's in their respective areas. The had put the Black Vulkars on the far end of the garage from the Hidden Beks, just in case. However that did not stop them from hurling all manner of insults at each other.

Right now, the mechanics were in the process of doing the last tweaks and tuneups before the race. Seth was just staying out of the way, opting to use the time to make some modifications to his swoop bike's sound system. Originally it was supposed to be for the pilot to be able receive and send radio transmissions. But since swoop racers had radios installed in their helmets, the on board system wasn't used. Seth was pretty sure he could rewire it to play the songs stored on his datapad.

He'd had that dream again. It was only slightly different from the last time. The Jedi and the Dark Jedi were still locked in combat. And the little boy was was still cowering in the corner. But this time the Sith Lord was crouching over him, one gloved hand placed on his head. But the boy had still been out of Seth's reach, which was now even more agonizing. He had been desperate to save him, to get him away from the Sith.

The nightmares haunted him, he felt he needed to talk to someone about them, but no one would understand. For now he would keep them to himself. Maybe Bastila would know something, after all, she was a Jedi and there were Jedi in his nightmares.

Seth ran his hands back and forth over the controls, getting the feel for them. Mission's words still echoed in his head.

_'Humans don't race swoops.'_

Although, he never considered himself a 'normal' human. There was always that part of him that knew what was going to happen next, the part of me that just takes over my mind. The part that is instinct, when he didn't even need to think. That part of him was so inhuman, it wasn't like any other species, the part of him that classified him as a 'freak'.

But he knew, that being a freak, as he called himself, had saved his, Carth's, Zaalbar's and Mission's lives many times.

Mission. She was one person that never ceased to throw him off balance. He always ended up nervous when he talked to her. Seth supposed the fact could be attributed to his lack of interaction with girls in general. The only people he had really talked to at length had been his squad mates for along time. Well, them and his superiors, but those conversations usually included various threats of bodily harm to his person or a threat of utter humiliation. It frequently confounded him how he seemed so unskilled at socializing with the opposite sex. Even with one from a different species. He didn't know why, but he was determined to find out. Maybe Carth could give him some pointers, according to barracks scuttlebutt, he used to be married. Although Seth wasn't sure it was appropriate to ask his superior for advice on girls.

In combat, he frequently found himself covering her, even though he knew she could take care of herself in a fight. And she had a certain strength about her, a certain natural ease with her --often dangerous-- surroundings. And unlike most of the other Twi'leks he'd run into on Taris, she wore absolutely no makeup whatsoever, having no money to afford the cosmetics that others of her species could. Yet her face had a unique charm to it that Seth found rather attractive. It had a strange, almost controlling affect on him.

Seth shook his head, clearing his thoughts. What was he doing? He needed to focus on the upcoming race. He turned his attention back to the swoop. After a quick inspection of the different meters on the control board that measured the vital components of the swoop bike, he spotted a small discrepancy in the measurements for two of the meters.

"Hey mechanic?" he called to the Ithorian who was checking the repulsors in the swoop's pontoons.

The flat headed alien looked up at him. "[What is it sir?]"

Seth held up his index finger. "Well first thing, don't call me sir, I'm not any officer yet."

The Ithorian looked perplexed.

"Never mind, but anyway; you might want to check the power lining."

The mechanic stuck his head in to look at the glowing screens. Seth had to press himself a bit farther back into the seat to allow the Ithorian's broad head some room.

"[No, the meter says the power lining is in good condition.]"

"A correction if I may. The power lining meter says the power lining is fine, but the engine and power cell meters say otherwise."

The Ithorian glanced at the meters Seth was pointing out. "[I'm afraid I don't understand.]"

"Tell me, have you altered the power lining at all since you installed the accelerator?"

"[No, the meter said it was fine all along.]"

"Have you worked on the engine or power cell?"

"[Just the engine.]"

"Then there you go."

"[I'm still confused.]"

Seth sighed exasperatedly and clambered out of the cockpit. Swinging his legs over the side and jumping to the ground. He held his hand out expectantly. "Hydrospanner please."

The Ithorian obligingly handed Seth the requested tool and he slid under the bike. After about a minute of tinkering, he started talking again. "Okay, I've adjusted the power cell to work in sync with the accelerator. What does the meter say now?"

"[It's the same.]"

"Then you've tweaked the engine a bit too much." Seth scooted over to the engine and got to work.

The Ithorian ducked down and brought his flat head near Seth's. "[The engine and power cell meters are rising and the power lining is dropping.]"

"That's because you can't just fix the accelerator to the power lining, the swoop won't react right. You have to fix the accelerator to work in sync with the engine and power cell, and then-" Seth paused to work on the power lining, adjusting components here and there into a different configuration. "- hook the power lining to the power cell and engine." he slid back out from under the swoop and looked at the meters again, all at the highest position. "See?" he gestured at them to the Ithorian, handing back the hydrospanner.

The mechanic looked back at him, and from what Seth could tell about Ithorian facial expressions, he looked pretty shocked. "[That's incredible!]"

Seth shrugged and wiped his grease stained hands. "It's what I do."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the pre-dawn gloom, it was hard to appreciate the size of the swoop track. But by now, the sun was shining brightly down on the stadium and the crowd had already filled three quarters of the three level stadium. The noise of the crowd was steadily growing to a jubilant roar.

The shape of the track was no different than the Galactic Standard, with two parallel straightaways connected by a long turn at each end, making it roughly oval-shaped. It had a circumference of nearly five miles and was wide enough to comfortably accommodate over fifty swoop bikes set side by side. More than enough to allow the twenty-one other racers from seven different racing teams room enough to maneuver around each other with ease.

The bikes were being lined up for the race start, Seth's pitch black ride was easily recognized. Standing out against the other bikes that were almost all painted a number of different, brighter colors.

Seth a few feet away from where the two other Bek bikes besides his own were being lined up, looking around for Carth and the others in the stands, he spotted them sitting in the Bek's reserved section right above their team's pits. Mission was waving her arms wildly, trying to get his attention. He waved back, acknowledging her. Seth could also see Gadon, Zaerdra sitting right next to him, eyes unsurprisingly not looking at the track, but raking the crowd around her for any threats to her charge. Mission was trying to yell something that he couldn't make out. He just waved again in response.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Seth found himself staring into the glaring eyes of a Nikto. The rough skinned alien sniffed a few times, then twisted his face in disgust.

"So, you be new rider old Gadon gets," the Nikto said in rough basic. "Little male huuuuman be stinking of fear..."

Seth didn't flinch. "Redros I take it?"

The Nikto's lips peeled away from his teeth in a sardonic smirk. "So you hears of me huuuuman? What do others say about me, hm?"

Seth found the way he said 'human' to be quite grating. "Only the truth," he shrugged.

Redros' grin widened. "That I be best rider on Taris?"

"No, that you are a cowardly, illegitimate son of a drooling Hutt and plays with bantha droppings in his spare time," he replied casually. "And judging by the smell, I'd say that's pretty darn accurate."

Redros' demeanor quickly darkened, a low growl vibrating in the back of his throat, leaning in enough for their noses to be almost touching. "You talk big for human, you should know why humans don't race in Swoop Circuit, they always crash and burn, maybe you brain not work so well?"

Seth made a show of reeling back and waving a hand in front of his face. "Yeah? Well too bad my nose works just fine."  
The thought that he might have taken it a bit too far came across his mind when the Nikto racer clenched his green fists

"Well maybe me should break nose, as favor!" he snarled, spittle flying from his lips.

Seth's hand reached for his blaster, he then remembered he had to leave it with Carth. And Redros looked like he was prepared to use his fists. But likewise, Seth knew he wasn't helpless either if the Nikto decided to get violent, he trained in Phase 2 hand-to-hand, so he was confident he could give the Vulkar a run for his credits in a fight.

"Redros!" a sharp voice whipped both of their heads around. Seth spotted a dark-skinned human striding towards them. A set of beady eyes, which seemed to be placed to close together, glowered at both the Vulkar and Seth.

"You know that brawling before the race results in disqualification!" the man shouted in Redros' face. The Nikto's gaze fell to the ground, still fuming but taken down several notches. The Vulkar's apparent boss then turned his attention to Seth.

"You must be Mike Fure, Gadon's new meat," he said, looking down his nose at Seth who was only half a head shorter than him. Seth and Carth had decided to have Gadon use the alias 'Mike Fure' for Seth to be publicly announced as in case the Sith, who were probably watching the race go down from the Upper City cantinas, had gotten a hold of the Endar Spire's crew roster

"And you must be Brejik, head of the Vulkar gang, pleased to finally make your acquaintance," Seth nodded his head towards him, remaining polite but still rather curt.

Brejik's expression was one of thinly veiled disdain. "The pleasure is all yours."

Seth's eyes flashed with anger, but he kept an outward calm. The rival swoop gang leader looked over at Seth's bike.

"You are the first human in a long time to attempt this race you know, I won't be expecting to see you get through five laps, let alone complete the full two hundre-" Seth held up his hand, interrupting Brejik's sermon before it began.

"Well then... sir," Seth pronounced the 'sir' with borderline derision. "I guess you've got nothing to worry about, now if you'll kindly excuse me, I have a race to win and I prefer to throw my jabs in the winner's circle, not on the starting line."

An amused smirk tugged at the corners of Brejik's thin mouth. "You've got some guts boy, I'll give you that. I'd wish you good luck, but I guess your little blue Twi'lek squeeze already gave you more than your fair share," Redros snorting a laugh at this, Brejik put a hand on the Nikto's shoulder. "Now this rider needs to get ready for the race the Vulkars will win, not the gang who choose a upstart, snot-nose rider with a death wish to ride for them." And with that final barb, he led his rider away from Seth and over to wherever the Vulkar bikes were.

Seth watched Brejik's dark head retreating, eyes blazing. His mind was vividly imagining wrenching the gang boss' head all the way around. Clenching and unclenching his fists, Seth tried to calm himself. He could take a few jabs to his reputation, but when someone belittled Mission, or any of his friends, they had trouble coming.

"Brejik's right about one thing; you do have guts," a feminine voice said behind him. Seth looked over his shoulder and saw the two other Bek riders who would race with him: A pale red female Twi'lek and a male Bith wearing the tattoo of a Krayt dragon on the left side of his bulbous head.

Turning to the two riders, Seth shrugged. "No more guts than it takes you guys to do this for a living."

The Twi'lek laughed. "I like you," she proclaimed and gave him a clap on the shoulder. "My name's Livana, and my companion," she gestured to the silent Bith. "Is Go'lung Shrookut. Don't ask for his full name, you can't hope to pronounce it."

Go'lung crossed his arms. "It's not my fault you two don't have the throat muscles my species does," his voice was rough by Bith standards.

Livana put an arm across Seth's shoulders. "Oh come on, I don't know why you insist on introducing yourself by your full name!" she looked at Seth. "I keep telling him; popularity is not gained through confusing everyone you meet, wouldn't you agree?"

Seth, infected with the Twi'lek's chirpy attitude, couldn't help but smile. "Well Go'long-"

"Go'lung," he corrected.

Livana rolled her eyes. "See what I mean? You're confusing this poor boy just with your short name."

Go'lung threw his arms up in frustration. "If the boy can't pronounce my short name, well that's his own frakking-" the Bith's rant was interrupted by a voice blaring through the stadium's PA system.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen of all species to Taris to the seventy-fourth season opener of the Professional Swoop Racing League!"

The crowd roared it jubilation whole heartedly in response.

"Go on," Livana pushed Seth lightly. "Get to your bike, it's show time!" she was grinning, this is what she lived for.

Seth nodded, his heart rate picking up by the second. "Good luck," he gave them both a quick salute then quickly ran over to his bike. A mechanic handed him his helmet. Seth thanked him and put it over his head, flipping down the heavily tinted visor.

Brejik stood next to Redros as the announcer worked his way up the ranks of racers that were competing. He squinted his eyes as he looked down the line at the new Bek rider. Why would Gadon waste a spot on his team for this punk? He had no idea, but there must be something about the boy that Gadon liked. Something to make him trust a humans abilities in the swoop circuit. Brejik knew Gadon was smart, and he knew that his rival wouldn't trust the boy's talent unless he wasn't like the other humans that had attempted to race in the Professional Leagues. And if that were true, that meant he probably stood a good chance of beating even Redros.

Brejik turned to his best rider. "If you don't win this one, you're bantha meat," he growled in warning.

The Nikto looked unfazed. "Why you be telling me this now Brejik?"

"The stakes just got a bit higher," Brejik pointed over at Seth.

Redros smiled confidently. "As you say, he be human and young human too. The race will kill him if I don't first. What be your trouble with him?"

"Exactly the reasons you mentioned; Gadon Thek is no fool, or we would've crushed his gang long ago. The very fact that he trusts this boy to race for him makes me think he has a good chance at succeeding."

Redros bared his teeth. "I will no let human child be beat me at what I do best."

Brejik leaned in close to his champion's face. "Make sure you don't, if not, I'm feeding you to the Rakghouls... in bite sized chunks."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He heard the helmets personal radio speaker click on.

"[Can you hear me Avery?]" Tor-Fy's voice crackled in his ear, she was stationed in the pits, ready to do emergency services on the bikes throughout the race if need be.

Seth pressed down the chin button to reply. "Loud and clear."

"Alright, wait for your name to be announced to get into your bike."

He took the opportunity to observe a swoop race crowd from track-side, something he never got to do before. The grandstands looked to be completely full. The entire crowd appeared to be standing, jumping up and down and generally cheering their lungs out. Seth was in awe.

"-And representing the Hidden Bek gang: Go'lungolano Shrookut'Skarrowei'Krrykushush-"

As the large headed racer thumped his chest to the mixture of cheers, Seth found himself agreeing with Livana's previous assessment of the Bith's name.

"-Livana Dameos!-

The Twi'lek sultrily blew kisses at the adoring spectators. By the sound of it, she had quite a large male following. Seth found that wholly unsurprising.

"-And finally, a rookie on the Bek racing team, indeed a newcomer to the Professional Racing Circut itself; Mike Fuure!"

As his fake name was announced, Seth thrust his fists in the air, head thrown back as he was inundated by the delighted roar of the crowd. Mission was right when she said they were excited about him.

"And representing the Crouching Nexu gang..." The sound of the announcer's voice was tuned out of Seth's concentration as he followed Livana and Go'lung's lead and climbed into the cockpit of the swoop. He threw the lever the closed that canopy, throwing a glance to his left and right, seeing Livana and Go'lung, helmets on, in their bike's cockpits. He gave them the thumbs-up sign which they returned in kind. Seth's heart was hammering at a breakneck pace now.

The command to start his engine was given. Reaching over to the ignition switch, Seth gave it a good twist. The twin engines roared to life. His gloved hands held the twin steering sticks in a death-grip. He knew this was probably the most dangerous thing he'd done so far in his entire life. In fact, he was expecting his tragically short life to flash before his eyes, it would probably mostly be the things he sincerely wished to forget. But as it was, Seth only felt a small bit of fear and hesitation that was quickly being overridden by a rush of excitement. He felt as if a swarm of broadwing-flies had made a sudden invasion of his stomach. His senses seemed heightened, he could make out the minute creases in the racing jumpsuit he wore, a testimony to years of use by the previous owner. He could see each small pit and crack in the tarmac of the track.

Seth turned his head towards the four lights affixed to a metal strut jutting out over the line of swoop bikes.

"Oh and Seth," Livana said through his helmet speaker. "See you in the Winner's Circle."

Seth didn't know how she managed to sound so relaxed. "Do try and keep up Livana, I don't want to be turning back around to get you," he looked over at the Twi'lek's bike as he responded. She gunned her engines a bit louder in answer.

Seth turned his attention back to the starting lights. His foot pressing down on the accelerator, revving the engines.

The red starting light brightened.

Seth pressed down the accelerator pedal as far as it would go, the hum of the prototype was barely noticeable.

The orange light.

The crowd fell silent, everyone watching the starting line tensely.

The yellow light.

Seth's hand rested on the lever that would switch the engine into gear.

Green light.

In less than a second, Seth's bike leaped forwards, rocketing off the starting line at an incredible speed. He felt himself be pressed into the seat by the sheer velocity he was experiencing. It was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

The race was on.


	6. Humans Don't Race Swoops'

Mission and Carth were enthusiastically wild along with the the other Beks in the grandstands. Indeed, along with the rest of the stadium. Well, except for Zaalbar, who's attention was solely focused on a stick of fried Nerf meat.

Mission noticed Seth's black bike falter a little when it came to the first turn, leaning more towards the outer wall of the track as the bikes came around. As opposed to the other racers who kept to the inner side of it. However the slip up was only momentary as the black swoop bike swerved back inwards. Though still, the slip-up had cost Seth, bumping him back near the rear of the main body of swoop bikes.

Seth was approximately in seventeenth place, behind five other swoop gang racing teams. In the beginning of the race, the bikes were always in a tight group, but Mission knew that as the race progressed, the cluster would thin out. Right now, it was difficult for anyone at all to advance. However Seth did manage to fight his way into fifteenth place, taking advantage of the few gaps available.

When they approached the second turn Seth, who seemed to be learning the strategies of the race quickly, kept his bike closer to the inner wall of the track.

The two other Bek riders were in front along with Redros, who currently held the lead as they came around to complete the first lap.

Carth was saying something that Mission couldn't quite make out. After mouthed 'what', Carth tried again.

"I asked how many laps are there?" Carth had to yell over the sound of the crowd to Mission.

She kept her eyes on the bikes as she replied. "About two hundred!"

Carth's jaw dropped. "Why in the good name of the Jedi are there so many?"

"Each lap really only takes an average of forty-five seconds each, so it doesn't really take that long."

"That's still an hour and thirty minutes at least!"

Mission turned to Carth. "Well this is the swoop races!" she swept her hands out, gesturing to the entire crowd.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rider seemed to have it in for him.

After another twelve more excruciating laps, Seth had finally made it into the leading ten racers, he still wasn't able to advance as quickly as he had originally hoped. Fighting through the cramped ranks of the swoop bikes was frustratingly difficult. Each racing team was trying the advance while trying to keep their rivals from advancing as well. The Black Vulkar team seemed to be exceedingly proficient at it, letting Redros take the lead and the other two racers of the team stayed back and kept the others bunched up.

And as it was, keeping the position Seth held was proving to be even more difficult than advancing further.

The rider he had just passed, a rider from the Crouching Nexu gang, judging by the symbol of the coiled jungle predator on the bike's pontoons, was trying to regain his position in ninth place from Seth by banging into his bike repeatedly, trying to pass him. Each time the rival bike hit his, grinding his pontoon against the side of Seth's engines, the teen had to immediately adjust to keep from spinning out of control.

"Come on, I need some help here!" he implored as the bike was violently jostled once again.

"We're too far ahead and there's too many bikes, sorry but we can't get to you," Go'lung replied.

"Have you tried shaking him?" Livana offered.

As they went around the first turn, Seth was granted a small reprieve, since everyone was concentrating on keeping their swoop as close to the inner wall as the other bikes would allow.

When they came around the turn Seth threw another look back and saw the Crouching Nexu bike lining up for another go.

"What the frakking heck do you think I'm trying to do?!" he yelled in answer, unsure of how many more hits he could take.

"Well you could be fra-"

"[Avery, this is Tor-Fy,]" the Rodian's voice interjected whatever retort Go'lung was in the process of giving. "[ Try looking for a big enough break in the bikes in front of you to fit your bike through, the guy on your tail will have a bloody hard time following you then.]"

"Easier said than done. And I thought you guys did this for a-" Seth cut himself off as the Crouching Nexu bike came in again. Seth sped up just enough for the bike to swerve in behind him.

"Tor-Fy, I can't exactly get through a break if there isn't any-" Seth stopped himself. After missing him, the rival bike had plowed into the swoop immediately to Seth's right, gouging a chunk out of both their pontoons and sending both of them careening outwards to crash into the outer wall. For a few seconds, they ground against the tall duracrete barrier, sparks showering everything within fifteen feet. And then, losing velocity, they both slipped out of Seth's field of vision.

The sudden departure of the two racers left a gap in the crush of bikes. Seth took advantage of this before the other racers could. He let out a sigh of relief as he broke free of the crush of swoops.

"Nice job kid, I'm impressed," Livana commended him. "Now step on it, we need that bike up here and past Redros."

Seth wasted no time in complying, and proceeded to press the accelerator pedal down into the floor, sending his bike rocketed ahead once more. He remembered the adjustments he had made to the sound system. After rounding the turn he had been approaching, he reached over and selected a song by a heavy-electric band whose name escaped him at the moment.

In no time flat, the sound of the song's trademark music was booming through the small cockpit. It's pace was set at one close to the speed of a repeating blaster, quite appropriate for the situation, Seth mused as the nearly-screamed lyrics began.

There were a handful of bikes that had made it past, but they weren't able to match the speed that the prototype accelerator granted Seth's bike. He passed the closest swoop in seconds, his lips unconsciously moving along with the song's lyrics.

Seth nodded his head to the tune as he finished his thirteenth lap. He had four more bikes to pass before he would catch up to the leading three racers, the two other Beks and Redros. He had a particular score he wanted to settle with the egotistical Nikto. Out here on the track, these two ton durasteel racing swoops would take the place of words, leaving only action the only avenue to take. It was a much more simple and visceral way to resolve a dispute.

The next racer proved harder to pass, trying to block Seth's advance by sticking directly in front of his bike. Gunning the engines harder still, Seth slammed his bike into the back of the rival racer's left pontoon, critically damaging the maneuvering flap. The other rider visibly decelerated, recognizing the fatal damage to his bike's maneuvering system.

However this did not stop him from gesturing obscenely at Seth as he pushed past him.

The black swoop was now going at a speed that any reasonable person would call 'reckless'. And chances are, Seth would have agreed that that person.

Right now, Seth's concentration was solely focused on the track, he didn't even see the crowd as it blurred past anymore, just the track in front of him. The completion of the fourteenth lap was barely registered by Seth's mind.

Another twenty laps passed, then twenty five, still Seth lagged behind the leading three. The prototype accelerator was a double-edged vibroblade, it gave Seth a definite advantage in speed that was unobtainable by the other bikes, but it was difficult to remain as close the inner wall on the turns as the other swoops could, thus costing him the a frustratingly large margin of distance needed to catch up with the top three.

For the next hour, Seth chased the leaders, getting closer and closer as the race progressed. And behind him, one by one the other bikes were knocked out of the race. Due to mechanical failure, knockout or simply crashing. There had been a particularly nasty one recently. A rider that attempted to pass Seth on a turn. The rider ended up throwing his bike into an uncontrolled skid, so to speak, and smashed into the outer wall. Blowing into countless pieces in an impressive explosion.

It had taken several laps for automated disposal droids to clear off the track, since every time the bikes came back around to the crash site, the small floating droids had to elevate themselves high enough to avoid being hit by the swoop bikes.

The one hundred eleventh lap came as Seth was finally nearing the leading three, Livana's swoop being the closest,

Go'lung was right on Redros' tail.

Seth was all but putting his foot and accelerator pedal through the steel floor of his bike when for the first time in an hour, Tor-fy's voice came through his helmet radio.

"[Step on it Avery, we're running out of time.]"

He was now right next to Livana's deep blue swoop. "I'm working on it!" he adjusted the power flow to the prototype accelerator slightly, trying to squeeze as much speed as possible from the engines

"Hang on! I think I can pass Redros!" Go'lung's yelled excitedly.

Seth looked up and sure enough, the Bith's swoop bike did appear to be gaining on Redros' own and was in a prime position to pass. He couldn't believe this. They didn't even need the accelerator!

But as Seth studied the way Go'lung was passing Redros, something seemed off. It looked too easy, as if Redros was letting him pass. Seth's instincts buzzed with alarm. His fears were confirmed as Go'lung passed Redros and left himself vulnerable to what Seth could see Redros was lining his bike up to do.

Seth shouted a warning over the comm, but it was too late. Redros jammed the reinforced durasteel tip of a pontoon into the presented side of the right engine on Go'lung's bike, shredding it.

A shower of sparks and a gout of flame erupted from the bike's wrecked engine. It immediately lost speed, allowing Redros to again retake his place in the lead.

"[Go'lung, give me a SIT-REP! Now!]" Tor-fy ordered firmly, sounding slightly shocked at Redros' bold and unexpected move.

The Bith grunted, the shaky sound of his ruined engine accompanying his voice. "I'm okay. Not a scratch. Can't say the same about the bike though. The right engines' totalled and the left is overheating, sorry but I'm out."

Tor-fy uttered the Rodian equivilant of a discouraged sigh. "[Understood, come on in.]"

As it was, they were near the pits, so Go'lung was able to bring his bike limping back to the Bek's waiting mechanics.  
The frustration and anger at the conceited Nikto returned to Seth. Also there was anger directed at himself for not warning the Bith sooner in order to avoid his forced drop-out. He vented his pent-up fury by banging his head against the back of the cockpit.

"Guess it's just you and me then," Livana's voice was utterly serious, her own ice cold wrath audible in her voice. "Let's get this son of a Hutt."

Almost simultaneously, they accelerated, gaining on Redros' red and orange swoop bike. The remainder of the bikes were almost an entire lap behind them, so they had all the room available to deliver their comeuppance to the Vulkar rider. However, upon seeing both the remaining Bek swoops bearing down on him, Redros also accelerated. Seth and Livana clung to his tail like Kath Hounds after a fleeing Nerf. Under his helmet, the way Seth's teeth were bared, association with the large canine would be an easy one to make.

Catching up to Redros was an insufferably slow process, taking up to another ten laps. But as soon as he was in range,

Seth swung his bike in to hit Redros'. This act of retribution, however small it may be, he found to be exceedingly satisfying. He slammed his bike into Redros' again, trying to knock him into the outer wall. However, the elite rider was well versed in the techniques of swoop bike combat. Instead of trying to fight Seth's push, Redros leaned along with it, and at the same time; decelerated. This tactic allowed him to slip behind Seth and make the teenager to impact the outer wall himself. Seth immediately swerved away from the wall, but still, in a thick line along his bike's left pontoon, the black paint was now scratched and ground off. The impact with the wall had also robbed him of speed, once again allowing Redros to retake the lead.

"[Careful Avery!]" Tor-fy cautioned. "[Don't get cocky out there.]"

Seth did not need to be told twice. He had seen over half the amount of swoop bikes that had started this race be disqualified and he had no intention to join their ranks. He knew that he would get his chance. And then he would be able to knock that Vulkar into the wall as hard as he possibly could.

While he was unable to knock Redros into the wall, the opportunity to pass him was presented to Seth during the one hundred fiftieth lap. As the Nikto was bringing his bike around the first turn, the maneuvering flaps seemed to seize up a bit, causing the bike to fail to hug the inner wall as it went around as it had been able to do on the previous laps, giving Seth a wide opening.

"Take it Avery!" Livana shouted over the comm.

Seth gunned the prototype until it he was sure it was near overheating and his black bike shot into the lead. Both the pit crew and Livana had left their radios on as they cheered loudly.

He winced. "Ow! Not in my ear people!"  
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Mission was sure she was going to have a sore throat later in the day, but at the moment, she didn't care. After watching Seth trail behind the leaders for over an hour, the entire Bek section fell silent as Redros stumbled, and consequently erupted in wild cheers when Seth finally took the lead for the Hidden Beks. Any booing Vulkar supporters in the surrounding seats was utterly drowned out by the ecstatic roar.

Jumping up and down, pumping her fists wildly into the air, Mission had never been to a swoop race as exciting as this one.

She turned and punched Carth in the shoulder, he wasn't exactly pleased with that celebratory action to say the least.

But still, even as he massaged the area Mission had punched, Carth did manage to sheer along with the Beks and Seth's achievement.

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Eventually, there were only ten more laps to go.

Ten more heart-pounding laps to go and if Seth had thought that keeping lower placings was difficult, holding first place against the best rider of the Black Vulkar gang would be the new defining point for difficulty in the future. He had too keep his bike going at the absolute top-speed, but still stay on the inner side of the track when going around turns.

The sweat of extreme concentration beaded on the end of Seth's nose. His knuckled cracked from gripping the steering sticks as hard as he was. So far, his efforts were successful, the distance between him and Redros was growing.

Livana was also assisting Seth by slamming her bike into Redros' when she could. The Twi'lek delivering warnings to Seth whenever it looked like Redros could gain on him.

Confidence began to grow in Seth as he completed the hundred ninetieth lap. However he refused to let himself relax.

There was still nine more laps to go, and he knew that a lot could happen in that time.  
He entered the first turn. He bringing his bike so close to the inner wall that if he came any closer, he would start grinding the side of his bike against the impregnable duracrete.

An alarm suddenly started buzzing loudly. Seth looked down at the harsh red light on the bike system display screen. What he saw there caused his eyes filled with cold dread.

The light signaling a dangerous buildup of heat in the engines, or more specifically, the prototype accelerator.

Looking back again, he saw that a bright flame and column of thick black smoke belching out from his right engine.

Frantically, he attempted to vent the heat from the accelerator while still running it. Deactivation now would result in Redros retaking the lead.

Ultimately, Seth's efforts were unsuccessful. The right engine failed with a last explosion of flame. Now with only one engine operating coupled with the force of the final blast, Seth's bike went into an uncontrolled spin.

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The grandstands all but fell silent as the black swoop bike began to spin while still rocketing down the second straightaway at a speed unobtainable even by the prototype accelerator. The anticipation of the coming crash climbed at an unprecedented rate. The Bek's however watched in mute horror.

Mission felt her throat constrict. 'It can't end like this! It can't!' she mentally yelled, unable to do anything but watch Seth's swoop get closer and closer to the second turn where he would crash into the wall. Gadon had told her, he had promised her that this was not a feasible possibility, and yet it was happening now.

Beside her, Carth silently watched as well. His expression was the one he wore as he watched fellow soldiers die.

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The bike was spinning so fast, Seth had to fight from blacking out form the G-force. Straining, he reached over to the control screen and began trying to reactivate the failed engine.

"[Avery! Do you read Avery?!]" Seth's chin was unable to press down the button to respond. And even if he could, he found he couldn't even breath. Black spots appeared on the edge of his vision. It felt as if a dewback had taken it upon itself to sit down on his chest.

_'Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap_!' he thought over and over again as he tried to reopen the flow of power to the right engine.

Still nothing, the engine remained silent. Tears of bitter frustration welled in Seth's eyes. As a last resort he desperately punched the 'Engine Start' button repeatedly while frantically flipping the 'Boost' switch.

Finally, he heard the sound of the engine roaring back to life. It was the sweetest thing he had heard all day. Seth managed to straighten his bike's trajectory just before he hit the wall of the second turn. Pulling the hardest turn he had ever attempted before, Seth couldn't suppress a maniacal laugh of relief and triumph.

However, now the distance he had between himself and Redros was now negated. The Vulkar was now almost alongside him. Seth attempted to get the prototype accelerator working again. Seth was thankful that it hadn't been completely fried by the overheat.

As they completed the one hundred ninety-second lap, Seth, Redros were racing neck to neck, with Livana coming in just behind them. Seth and Redros both trying to get the upper hand. Although Seth was in the lead by a few feet.

The accelerator was stubbornly failing to reactivate according to the commands Seth was entering into the control display. As it was, he and Redros were equal in speed. The Nikto realized this and slowly started to swerve over to Seth's bike that was already right next to the outer wall. If he were broadsided now, he would be ground against it.

"Come on Avery you're faster than that, speed up, get out of there before he crushes you!" Livana ordered as the Nikto's red and orange bike edged closer.

"In-_credibly_, the prototype got knocked out by that little spin I took earlier and now I can't get it to fracking reactivate!" he replied. He considered avoiding Redros by braking, but discarded that idea as quickly as it had came to mind. He had come to far to finish in second place now.

Redros' approach abruptly sped up, in seconds he would smash into Seth's bike.

"Ah, screw it," Livana snarled, then suddenly thrust her bike in between Seth and Redros, ramming into the Vulkar's swoop, thus foiling the potentially lethal move the Nikto had planned.

Seth was about to thank the Twi'lek rider, but the consequences of her defense of him came into play. The repulsors on the side she had hit Redros' swoop with were destroyed. This caused the entire pontoon to cease hovering over the track and fall to the ground. Seth heard Livana utter a vicious swear in Huttese as her bike twisted sideways and began flipping side over side, twisting the deep blue swoop bike into an almost unrecognizable heap of metal.

The wrecked bike soon, unable to maintain the speed Seth and Redros were going at, vanished behind them.

Seth was silent with shock for a moment. As they entered the first turn, he looked over at where the Bek rider's swoop was being grabbed by a team of disposal droids to be hauled back to the pits.

"[Dameos, can you hear me?]" Tor-fy asked tentatively, concern clear in her voice.

Silence. Seth assumed the worst.

But then the comm crackled back on, static buzzing loudly through it. Livana's voice came through the comm once again.

"Okay... that's one way to get a nasty knock on the head." A relived grin broke though Seth's sober expression. "Oh and Avery," she continued. "Sorry kid, it looks like it's up to you."

"Oh that'll be no problem," he replied. "Redros will be complaining about a lot more than a knock on the head when I'm finished with him." With that, Seth once again focused his concentration one the race.

His lesson learned, he brought his bike away from the outer wall, banging into Redros' swoop while he was at it, but not quite the the ferocity he had earlier. Redros struck back, however before he could make contact, Seth swerved forwards, firmly gaining the lead.

The Vulkar tried to knock his engines out like he did with Go'lung, but once again, Seth knew exactly what to do, veering from side to side, foiling Redros' attempts to line up with his engines.

Seth recalled one of the things his commander had told him.

_'Sometimes you don't have time to think. When that happens, just let the battle take over you. Focus on nothing. Use your instincts. Thinking will get you killed.'_

And that was exactly what he was doing, his mind was clear, he wasn't thinking, instead using his instincts to dictate his actions. It was a trance like state. He hardly even registered completing the one hundred ninety-third lap. The sound of the engines was like it was coming from a distance, he no longer saw the cockpit, only the track ahead. He made his bike flow along with its contours.

The ninety-fourth was completed. By now, even his breathing and heartbeat was at a normal, steady rate. The track was simple, straightaway then turn then straightaway then turn and repeat. The movements of the control sticks needed to guide the bike around came naturally now.

His calm finally slipped when he realized that he was on the final lap. His heartbeat once again climbed back up to its excited gallop.

However, this also caused Redros to become more desperate in his efforts to regain the lead. The attempts on hitting Seth's bike became much more frequent. An especially hard one was delivered just as they entered the first turn.

Incidentally, this locked the maneuvering flaps they used to navigate the turn to get tangled together, effectively locking the two swoops with each other.

Seth couldn't believe this, but really in a way, he could. He tried to pull out of this unsolicited pairing. Redros was doing the same thing. Seth could hear the metal straining, but it remained stuck together.

While going down the second straightaway it was all Seth could do to keep his bike going in a straight line. Now Redros was also trying the smash Seth's bike into the wall. The battle to keep from losing control again was one that Seth knew he was losing. He needed to break away from the Vulkar's bike and he needed to do it fast. But he also didn't want to tear his swoop in half either, so trying to turn sideways to break away wasn't a good option either.

He found himself wishing for the extra speed the prototype had given him in the previous laps, if he could gain enough speed, he could probably break away from the other bike with minimal damage to his own.

Once again, he attempted to reactivate the prototype accelerator, first trying to reroute the flow through the energy lining, next powering it directly from the energy cells. Neither of those worked.

He was now nearing he second turn, if he unable to undo his current predicament, he didn't know if he could win. Always go for a sure outcome, that was another thing he taught.

Seth growled with frustration, slamming a gloved fist down on the display screen. "Stupid 'cutting edge' piece of-" he was interrupted by the accelerator suddenly whining back to life, providing a sudden burst of speed.

This unexpected boost did turn out to be all he needed. As Seth entered the final turn, he dimly heard a sharp crack as his maneuvering flap tore off Redros', resulting in the Vulkar losing control and crashing into the outer wall of the track in the most satisfactory manner possible.

The next thing he knew, he flew across the finish line.

Seth pulled back on the throttle as far as he could, slowly coming to a stop. The entire Bek pit crew ran out onto the track and surrounded his bike. Yelling ecstatically, they motioned for Seth to exit the swoop.

Sliding down the canopy, he stood up. The noise of the crowd was one unlike anything Seth had ever heard in his life.

Raising the tinted visor of his helmet, he stared at the grandstands. Everyone seemed to be moving in one way or another, be it cheering their victorious team or booing it, he couldn't tell. All that was certain was that the noise they were making could probably be heard for miles.

Stepping down, Seth was instantly mobbed by his pit crew, who all seemed to want to give him a pat on the back or shake his hand. The other Beks that could came out onto the track to add to the crowd surrounding their triumphant rider.

Soon enough, the two other Bek riders managed to muscle their way through the teeming throng to personally congratulate.

Livana only had a few bruises and a thin bandage wrapped around a lekku , and judging by the little Seth knew of Bith expressions, Go'lung looked very happy. Livana's excitement was easier to tell, by the way she was ginning from one red ear to the other. Fortunately after the mandatory hand shake and back-slap, or in Livana's case giving him a crushing hug, they started assisting him through the gathering crowd of congratulatory Beks.

He had won.

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Later, in the winners circle, Seth finally met back up with Carth, Mission and Zaalbar. He caught sight of them as they pushed through the crowd of Beks that had

Seth started to give Carth a crisp salute, but then he remembered that he didn't want to draw attention to his military mannerisms, plus the fact that he still had his helmet on. "Thanks for the pilot's charm sir, I think it may have helped." he held out the star shaped pendant, offering it back.

Carth shook his head. "Nah, keep it, you never know when you'll have to race again. And besides, given your performance out there, you probably wore it out."

Mission rolled her brown eyes. "Or, he's just that good."

"I agree with Mission," Zaalbar chimed in. "You raced with much skill Seth."

"And how exactly would you know that Big Z?" Mission looked up at her Wookiee companion. "It's not as if your attention was on anything besides the free food you got during the entire race," she turned back to Seth who had been watching with no small amount on amusement at this entire exchange. "Well I guess you're famous now, you can expect every other girl to be throwing themselves at your feet wherever you go."

By the way Seth's cheek came up and made an eye squint, Mission guessed he was smirking under his helmet. "Oh trust me Mission, they'd just be after fame by association, not my looks, and that's not cool with me."

"Oh don't sell yourself short," she replied. "You are kinda cute."

Seth's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so?" He fought back a triumphant grin. His lips quirked up a bit at the corners, however.

Mission rolled her eyes again. "But don't bury yourself in the part either."

He shrugged. "Nah s'okay, I was going for the 'dashing' or the 'stunningly handsome' look, maybe I should grow a beard?" he tapped a leather encased finger against the area where his mouth would be under his helmet, considering.

Shaking her head, Mission smiled at him. "Oh wait I forgot, burying yourself in the part is your calling."

Seth shrugged. "It's what I do."

Their conversation was interrupted by a Duros holding a microphone stepping up on the platform. A camera droid hover close by as he began speaking. "Ladies and Gentelmen, it is the pleasure of the Professional Swoop Racing League to introduce our new champion," he waved Seth up to the stand. "Representing the Hidden Bek gang, Micheal Fure!"

It took Seth a few milliseconds to remember his alias, he waved to the cheering crowd. He could make out his image on the huge display screens placed around the stadium. In the back, he saw his fellow riders waving back at him. Seth felt as if he could do anything.

It was at that time when Brejik stepped up to the platform followed by the defeated Redros and a sizable number of Vulkars following him. Seth waved sarcastically at him and at Redros he held up all his fingers except for his fourth and thumb, which was considered a very obscene gesture among the Nikto. Both Vulkar leader and rider were absolutely fuming at Seth's show of impertinence.

The Duros turned to the newly arrived gang leader. "And here to present the grand prize in person, the leader of the Black Vulkar gang: Brejik!"

Brejik stepped forward and eyed Seth with a mixture of rage, disgust and self-assured superiority. He turned to the gathering. "Before I present the so-called 'champion' of the Beks their prize," he gestured at a nearby cage where Seth could see a tall, brown-haired woman, however her posture was slumped and her head was looking down at the ground, so

Seth couldn't make out her face. "There is something you all must know; the winning rider cheated!"

Seth's head snapped back to the Vulkar leader. "You're a stinking liar Brejik! I didn't know you were such a bad loser!" the crowd laughed at this. Except for the Vulkars, whose collective glower remained.

Brejik looked directly at Seth, wild-eyed. "Your swoop bike was using a prototype accelerator, clearly an unfair advantage! And now because of this blatant show of treachery from the Hidden Beks," he twisted the last two words like a curse. "I am withdrawing our share of the victory prize!"

The Duros spoke again. "You cannot do this Brejik! You cannot withdraw the prize after it has already been won, regardless of whether the winning rider cheated! It goes against our oldest and most sacred traditions!"

The dark-skinned man whirled back around to the Duros. "You old dithering fool! Your dusty, outdated traditions are nothing to me! Nothing! It is time for the future! And I am the future!" he pulled out his blaster and shot the Duros in the head, shattering it like a ripe melon. "Vulkars to me! Kill this filthy Bek! Kill them all!"

Pandemonium ensued as the Vulkars pulled blasters out and started shooting blindly, not caring whether or not it was Beks they hit. Several people in the crowd fell, some wounded, others dead. Seth saw Livana, Go'lung, Tor-fy and the rest of the pit crew who were all fourtuatly the the rear of the crowd, flee for their lives.

Seth dove out of the way as a Vulkar took aim at him, blaster shots lanced through the air where he had stood a second before. Mission, Carth and Zaalbar charged up the small set of stairs leading to the platform. Mission and Carth were firing their blasters at the attacking Vulkars while Zaalbar whipped out a vibroblade and started hacking away at the nearest enemy.

Carth tossed a blaster to Seth who made a grab at it. And missed. Spiraling away, Seth's eyes tracked it until it finally came to rest a few feet from him. He made a dive for the blaster. However, another hand also was reaching for it. A green Nikto hand that Seth saw belonged to Redros. They both grabbed it at the same time. But it was Seth that grabbed it around the handle. Straining against Redros' attempt to pull it away from his hand, he twisted the blaster up until it was pointing at the Vulkar. Seth shot him three times in the stomach. Redros slumped to the ground and lay still.

All around Seth, Beks were grappling with Vulkars, trying to wrestle the blasters out of their hands. Sometimes ta Bek managed to gain the weapon and start fighting back, while other times they would end up shot dead. Bodies were piling up, blood ran of many different species ran together. But the Beks who stood and fought were outnumbered and outmatched by the ferocity of the vengeful Vulkars.

Easily spotted by his signature orange jacket, Carth was holding his own against the swarm of enemies. A blaster in each hand, he downed Vulkar after Vulkar, the gang thugs no match for his military training and experience.

Mission however, was in trouble. She and Zaalbar had become separated by the fighting. Her blaster had been destroyed by a near miss and she had dropped her vibroblade. She was frantically searching for it among the bodies on the ground. A hand grabbed her lekku and pulled her head back until she was staring into the grimacing face of another male Twi'lek Vulkar. She was weaponless and the Vulkar was hefting a vibroblade in a sickly green hand. Ironically, Mission saw that it was her own. Her breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to die, but all she could do was watch and wait for the killing blow to be made.

But it never came. In fact, she was very surprised to see the thin blade suddenly jut out from the Vulkar's chest. And appearantly, the Vulkar was too, an expression of utter shock frozen on his face as he toppled forwards. Seth stood a few meters behind the Vulkar, blaster gripped in one hand as he ran forward to grab Striker with the other. Mission knew that he would've had to make his sword curve in midair to hit the Vulkar that cleanly. She didn't know how it was possible, but she was thankful for Seth's special talents.

She pulled Striker out of the Vulkar's corpse and tossed it back to him. He grabbed it and brought it to bear just in time to meet a heavy blow from an enraged Brejik. Seth staggered under the brute force of the strike. He had to block again as Brejik pushed his furious attack, each hit becoming more and more taxing on Seth's defense.

'Use your head Avery!' he told himself, taking a swipe at Brejik's midriff. The Vulkar leader jumped back, the swipe only scoring the silver armor he wore.

"You may pull some fancy moves out on the track wormo," the dark-skinned human jeered. "But in a real fight, you're no match for a real man!"

"When do you think I can get to fighting him then?" he asked flippantly.

Brejik uttered an feral growl and swung at Seth again. This time, his vibrosword broke the end of Seth's much more lightweight sword off and continued until to smashed into the side of Seth's riding helmet. If he had taken it off, his head would now be in two pieces. Brejik took opportunity of Seth's downed defenses and sliced a short but deep cut on Seth's sword arm.

A grunt muffled by his helmet was all that was elicited from Seth. Defiantly, he struck back with Striker, which was now almost a quarter shorter, slashing and thrusting over and over again at Brejik. He seemed completely oblivious to the blood running down the length of his arm. With one last blow with all his strength behind it, he locked blades with Brejik. It was a test of strength now, each straining with all their might to force the locked blades against the other. Seth could see surprise register on Brejik's face as he found that Seth could easily match him in such a trial of muscles.

"Say your prayers wormo, because the last thing you're gonna see in this-" Brejik was interrupted by a snap-hiss sound and a bright streak of yellow that swept his sneering head right off his shoulders.

Seth didn't get the chance to see who it was, because she immediately set on the remaining Vulkars, her twin bladed lightsaber twirling and dancing through the air as it cut down enemies in droves. Shortly after, every single Vulkar was down.

Bodies carpeted the ground around them. Everyone else had fled the site of the brawl. A strange silence suddenly decended.

However, the silence was quickly broken as the newcomer, the brown haired woman he had seen in the cage earlier, turned to face him. "Well maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice next time they try to hold a Jedi prisoner."

This must be Commander Shan, Seth realized in an instant. Thoughts of how hot she was were quickly set aside as he struggled to get his helmet off.

"And as for you boy," she continued, her voice becoming as brittle as ice. "If you think you are going to take me as a prize-" she stopped as Seth finally managed to pull his helmet from his head. Bastila's eyes widened. "Wait, I don't believe this! You're- you're one of the soldiers from the Republic fleet aren't you? Yes I'm sure of it! How did you end up racing for these swoop gangs?"

Seth immediately fell into his military mindset, becoming straight as a rod in an instant and saluting crisply. "Private second class Seth Avery of the 2902 Infantry Battalion reporting for duty ma'am!" his voice was as clear as it would be on any parade ground.

"At ease Private, we don't have time for this," Bastila waved her hand impatiently. "Pleased to meet you."

"Thank you ma'am." Seth dropped his salute and relaxed his stance. She looked extremely familiar, he just couldn't place her face.

"Bastila! You're alive!" Carth shouted as he ran up to them. "Come on! We need to get out of here before the Sith show up to sort out this mess.

Bastila nodded and turned back to Seth. "The Captain's right, we need to get moving, get you friend and let's leave."

Seth saluted again, turned and waved over Zaalbar and Mission.

Then it struck him, he remembered where he had seen Bastila before.

She was the woman from his nightmares.

Mission and Carth were enthusiastically wild along with the the other Beks in the grandstands. Indeed, along with the rest of the stadium. Well, except for Zaalbar, who's attention was solely focused on a stick of fried Nerf meat.

Mission noticed Seth's black bike falter a little when it came to the first turn, leaning more towards the outer wall of the track as the bikes came around. As opposed to the other racers who kept to the inner side of it. However the slip up was only momentary as the black swoop bike swerved back inwards. Though still, the slip-up had cost Seth, bumping him back near the rear of the main body of swoop bikes.

Seth was approximately in seventeenth place, behind five other swoop gang racing teams. In the beginning of the race, the bikes were always in a tight group, but Mission knew that as the race progressed, the cluster would thin out. Right now, it was difficult for anyone at all to advance. However Seth did manage to fight his way into fifteenth place, taking advantage of the few gaps available.

When they approached the second turn Seth, who seemed to be learning the strategies of the race quickly, kept his bike closer to the inner wall of the track.

The two other Bek riders were in front along with Redros, who currently held the lead as they came around to complete the first lap.

Carth was saying something that Mission couldn't quite make out. After mouthed 'what', Carth tried again.

"I asked how many laps are there?" Carth had to yell over the sound of the crowd to Mission.

She kept her eyes on the bikes as she replied. "About two hundred!"

Carth's jaw dropped. "Why in the good name of the Jedi are there so many?"

"Each lap really only takes an average of forty-five seconds each, so it doesn't really take that long."

"That's still an hour and thirty minutes at least!"

Mission turned to Carth. "Well this is the swoop races!" she swept her hands out, gesturing to the entire crowd.

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The rider seemed to have it in for him.

After another twelve more excruciating laps, Seth had finally made it into the leading ten racers, he still wasn't able to advance as quickly as he had originally hoped. Fighting through the cramped ranks of the swoop bikes was frustratingly difficult. Each racing team was trying the advance while trying to keep their rivals from advancing as well. The Black Vulkar team seemed to be exceedingly proficient at it, letting Redros take the lead and the other two racers of the team stayed back and kept the others bunched up.

And as it was, keeping the position Seth held was proving to be even more difficult than advancing further.

The rider he had just passed, a rider from the Crouching Nexu gang, judging by the symbol of the coiled jungle predator on the bike's pontoons, was trying to regain his position in ninth place from Seth by banging into his bike repeatedly, trying to pass him. Each time the rival bike hit his, grinding his pontoon against the side of Seth's engines, the teen had to immediately adjust to keep from spinning out of control.

"Come on, I need some help here!" he implored as the bike was violently jostled once again.

"We're too far ahead and there's too many bikes, sorry but we can't get to you," Go'lung replied.

"Have you tried shaking him?" Livana offered.

As they went around the first turn, Seth was granted a small reprieve, since everyone was concentrating on keeping their swoop as close to the inner wall as the other bikes would allow.

When they came around the turn Seth threw another look back and saw the Crouching Nexu bike lining up for another go.

"What the frakking heck do you think I'm trying to do?!" he yelled in answer, unsure of how many more hits he could take.

"Well you could be fra-"

"[Avery, this is Tor-Fy,]" the Rodian's voice interjected whatever retort Go'lung was in the process of giving. "[ Try looking for a big enough break in the bikes in front of you to fit your bike through, the guy on your tail will have a bloody hard time following you then.]"

"Easier said than done. And I thought you guys did this for a-" Seth cut himself off as the Crouching Nexu bike came in again. Seth sped up just enough for the bike to swerve in behind him.

"Tor-Fy, I can't exactly get through a break if there isn't any-" Seth stopped himself. After missing him, the rival bike had plowed into the swoop immediately to Seth's right, gouging a chunk out of both their pontoons and sending both of them careening outwards to crash into the outer wall. For a few seconds, they ground against the tall duracrete barrier, sparks showering everything within fifteen feet. And then, losing velocity, they both slipped out of Seth's field of vision.

The sudden departure of the two racers left a gap in the crush of bikes. Seth took advantage of this before the other racers could. He let out a sigh of relief as he broke free of the crush of swoops.

"Nice job kid, I'm impressed," Livana commended him. "Now step on it, we need that bike up here and past Redros."

Seth wasted no time in complying, and proceeded to press the accelerator pedal down into the floor, sending his bike rocketed ahead once more. He remembered the adjustments he had made to the sound system. After rounding the turn he had been approaching, he reached over and selected a song by a heavy-electric band whose name escaped him at the moment.

In no time flat, the sound of the song's trademark music was booming through the small cockpit. It's pace was set at one close to the speed of a repeating blaster, quite appropriate for the situation, Seth mused as the nearly-screamed lyrics began.

There were a handful of bikes that had made it past, but they weren't able to match the speed that the prototype accelerator granted Seth's bike. He passed the closest swoop in seconds, his lips unconsciously moving along with the song's lyrics.

Seth nodded his head to the tune as he finished his thirteenth lap. He had four more bikes to pass before he would catch up to the leading three racers, the two other Beks and Redros. He had a particular score he wanted to settle with the egotistical Nikto. Out here on the track, these two ton durasteel racing swoops would take the place of words, leaving only action the only avenue to take. It was a much more simple and visceral way to resolve a dispute.

The next racer proved harder to pass, trying to block Seth's advance by sticking directly in front of his bike. Gunning the engines harder still, Seth slammed his bike into the back of the rival racer's left pontoon, critically damaging the maneuvering flap. The other rider visibly decelerated, recognizing the fatal damage to his bike's maneuvering system.

However this did not stop him from gesturing obscenely at Seth as he pushed past him.

The black swoop was now going at a speed that any reasonable person would call 'reckless'. And chances are, Seth would have agreed that that person.

Right now, Seth's concentration was solely focused on the track, he didn't even see the crowd as it blurred past anymore, just the track in front of him. The completion of the fourteenth lap was barely registered by Seth's mind.

Another twenty laps passed, then twenty five, still Seth lagged behind the leading three. The prototype accelerator was a double-edged vibroblade, it gave Seth a definite advantage in speed that was unobtainable by the other bikes, but it was difficult to remain as close the inner wall on the turns as the other swoops could, thus costing him the a frustratingly large margin of distance needed to catch up with the top three.

For the next hour, Seth chased the leaders, getting closer and closer as the race progressed. And behind him, one by one the other bikes were knocked out of the race. Due to mechanical failure, knockout or simply crashing. There had been a particularly nasty one recently. A rider that attempted to pass Seth on a turn. The rider ended up throwing his bike into an uncontrolled skid, so to speak, and smashed into the outer wall. Blowing into countless pieces in an impressive explosion.

It had taken several laps for automated disposal droids to clear off the track, since every time the bikes came back around to the crash site, the small floating droids had to elevate themselves high enough to avoid being hit by the swoop bikes.

The one hundred eleventh lap came as Seth was finally nearing the leading three, Livana's swoop being the closest,

Go'lung was right on Redros' tail.

Seth was all but putting his foot and accelerator pedal through the steel floor of his bike when for the first time in an hour, Tor-fy's voice came through his helmet radio.

"[Step on it Avery, we're running out of time.]"

He was now right next to Livana's deep blue swoop. "I'm working on it!" he adjusted the power flow to the prototype accelerator slightly, trying to squeeze as much speed as possible from the engines

"Hang on! I think I can pass Redros!" Go'lung's yelled excitedly.

Seth looked up and sure enough, the Bith's swoop bike did appear to be gaining on Redros' own and was in a prime position to pass. He couldn't believe this. They didn't even need the accelerator!

But as Seth studied the way Go'lung was passing Redros, something seemed off. It looked too easy, as if Redros was letting him pass. Seth's instincts buzzed with alarm. His fears were confirmed as Go'lung passed Redros and left himself vulnerable to what Seth could see Redros was lining his bike up to do.

Seth shouted a warning over the comm, but it was too late. Redros jammed the reinforced durasteel tip of a pontoon into the presented side of the right engine on Go'lung's bike, shredding it.

A shower of sparks and a gout of flame erupted from the bike's wrecked engine. It immediately lost speed, allowing Redros to again retake his place in the lead.

"[Go'lung, give me a SIT-REP! Now!]" Tor-fy ordered firmly, sounding slightly shocked at Redros' bold and unexpected move.

The Bith grunted, the shaky sound of his ruined engine accompanying his voice. "I'm okay. Not a scratch. Can't say the same about the bike though. The right engines' totalled and the left is overheating, sorry but I'm out."

Tor-fy uttered the Rodian equivilant of a discouraged sigh. "[Understood, come on in.]"

As it was, they were near the pits, so Go'lung was able to bring his bike limping back to the Bek's waiting mechanics.  
The frustration and anger at the conceited Nikto returned to Seth. Also there was anger directed at himself for not warning the Bith sooner in order to avoid his forced drop-out. He vented his pent-up fury by banging his head against the back of the cockpit.

"Guess it's just you and me then," Livana's voice was utterly serious, her own ice cold wrath audible in her voice. "Let's get this son of a Hutt."

Almost simultaneously, they accelerated, gaining on Redros' red and orange swoop bike. The remainder of the bikes were almost an entire lap behind them, so they had all the room available to deliver their comeuppance to the Vulkar rider. However, upon seeing both the remaining Bek swoops bearing down on him, Redros also accelerated. Seth and Livana clung to his tail like Kath Hounds after a fleeing Nerf. Under his helmet, the way Seth's teeth were bared, association with the large canine would be an easy one to make.

Catching up to Redros was an insufferably slow process, taking up to another ten laps. But as soon as he was in range,

Seth swung his bike in to hit Redros'. This act of retribution, however small it may be, he found to be exceedingly satisfying. He slammed his bike into Redros' again, trying to knock him into the outer wall. However, the elite rider was well versed in the techniques of swoop bike combat. Instead of trying to fight Seth's push, Redros leaned along with it, and at the same time; decelerated. This tactic allowed him to slip behind Seth and make the teenager to impact the outer wall himself. Seth immediately swerved away from the wall, but still, in a thick line along his bike's left pontoon, the black paint was now scratched and ground off. The impact with the wall had also robbed him of speed, once again allowing Redros to retake the lead.

"[Careful Avery!]" Tor-fy cautioned. "[Don't get cocky out there.]"

Seth did not need to be told twice. He had seen over half the amount of swoop bikes that had started this race be disqualified and he had no intention to join their ranks. He knew that he would get his chance. And then he would be able to knock that Vulkar into the wall as hard as he possibly could.

While he was unable to knock Redros into the wall, the opportunity to pass him was presented to Seth during the one hundred fiftieth lap. As the Nikto was bringing his bike around the first turn, the maneuvering flaps seemed to seize up a bit, causing the bike to fail to hug the inner wall as it went around as it had been able to do on the previous laps, giving Seth a wide opening.

"Take it Avery!" Livana shouted over the comm.

Seth gunned the prototype until it he was sure it was near overheating and his black bike shot into the lead. Both the pit crew and Livana had left their radios on as they cheered loudly.

He winced. "Ow! Not in my ear people!"  
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Mission was sure she was going to have a sore throat later in the day, but at the moment, she didn't care. After watching Seth trail behind the leaders for over an hour, the entire Bek section fell silent as Redros stumbled, and consequently erupted in wild cheers when Seth finally took the lead for the Hidden Beks. Any booing Vulkar supporters in the surrounding seats was utterly drowned out by the ecstatic roar.

Jumping up and down, pumping her fists wildly into the air, Mission had never been to a swoop race as exciting as this one.

She turned and punched Carth in the shoulder, he wasn't exactly pleased with that celebratory action to say the least.

But still, even as he massaged the area Mission had punched, Carth did manage to sheer along with the Beks and Seth's achievement.

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Eventually, there were only ten more laps to go.

Ten more heart-pounding laps to go and if Seth had thought that keeping lower placings was difficult, holding first place against the best rider of the Black Vulkar gang would be the new defining point for difficulty in the future. He had too keep his bike going at the absolute top-speed, but still stay on the inner side of the track when going around turns.

The sweat of extreme concentration beaded on the end of Seth's nose. His knuckled cracked from gripping the steering sticks as hard as he was. So far, his efforts were successful, the distance between him and Redros was growing.

Livana was also assisting Seth by slamming her bike into Redros' when she could. The Twi'lek delivering warnings to Seth whenever it looked like Redros could gain on him.

Confidence began to grow in Seth as he completed the hundred ninetieth lap. However he refused to let himself relax.

There was still nine more laps to go, and he knew that a lot could happen in that time.  
He entered the first turn. He bringing his bike so close to the inner wall that if he came any closer, he would start grinding the side of his bike against the impregnable duracrete.

An alarm suddenly started buzzing loudly. Seth looked down at the harsh red light on the bike system display screen. What he saw there caused his eyes filled with cold dread.

The light signaling a dangerous buildup of heat in the engines, or more specifically, the prototype accelerator.

Looking back again, he saw that a bright flame and column of thick black smoke belching out from his right engine.

Frantically, he attempted to vent the heat from the accelerator while still running it. Deactivation now would result in Redros retaking the lead.

Ultimately, Seth's efforts were unsuccessful. The right engine failed with a last explosion of flame. Now with only one engine operating coupled with the force of the final blast, Seth's bike went into an uncontrolled spin.

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The grandstands all but fell silent as the black swoop bike began to spin while still rocketing down the second straightaway at a speed unobtainable even by the prototype accelerator. The anticipation of the coming crash climbed at an unprecedented rate. The Bek's however watched in mute horror.

Mission felt her throat constrict. 'It can't end like this! It can't!' she mentally yelled, unable to do anything but watch Seth's swoop get closer and closer to the second turn where he would crash into the wall. Gadon had told her, he had promised her that this was not a feasible possibility, and yet it was happening now.

Beside her, Carth silently watched as well. His expression was the one he wore as he watched fellow soldiers die.

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The bike was spinning so fast, Seth had to fight from blacking out form the G-force. Straining, he reached over to the control screen and began trying to reactivate the failed engine.

"[Avery! Do you read Avery?!]" Seth's chin was unable to press down the button to respond. And even if he could, he found he couldn't even breath. Black spots appeared on the edge of his vision. It felt as if a dewback had taken it upon itself to sit down on his chest.

_'Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap_!' he thought over and over again as he tried to reopen the flow of power to the right engine.

Still nothing, the engine remained silent. Tears of bitter frustration welled in Seth's eyes. As a last resort he desperately punched the 'Engine Start' button repeatedly while frantically flipping the 'Boost' switch.

Finally, he heard the sound of the engine roaring back to life. It was the sweetest thing he had heard all day. Seth managed to straighten his bike's trajectory just before he hit the wall of the second turn. Pulling the hardest turn he had ever attempted before, Seth couldn't suppress a maniacal laugh of relief and triumph.

However, now the distance he had between himself and Redros was now negated. The Vulkar was now almost alongside him. Seth attempted to get the prototype accelerator working again. Seth was thankful that it hadn't been completely fried by the overheat.

As they completed the one hundred ninety-second lap, Seth, Redros were racing neck to neck, with Livana coming in just behind them. Seth and Redros both trying to get the upper hand. Although Seth was in the lead by a few feet.

The accelerator was stubbornly failing to reactivate according to the commands Seth was entering into the control display. As it was, he and Redros were equal in speed. The Nikto realized this and slowly started to swerve over to Seth's bike that was already right next to the outer wall. If he were broadsided now, he would be ground against it.

"Come on Avery you're faster than that, speed up, get out of there before he crushes you!" Livana ordered as the Nikto's red and orange bike edged closer.

"In-_credibly_, the prototype got knocked out by that little spin I took earlier and now I can't get it to fracking reactivate!" he replied. He considered avoiding Redros by braking, but discarded that idea as quickly as it had came to mind. He had come to far to finish in second place now.

Redros' approach abruptly sped up, in seconds he would smash into Seth's bike.

"Ah, screw it," Livana snarled, then suddenly thrust her bike in between Seth and Redros, ramming into the Vulkar's swoop, thus foiling the potentially lethal move the Nikto had planned.

Seth was about to thank the Twi'lek rider, but the consequences of her defense of him came into play. The repulsors on the side she had hit Redros' swoop with were destroyed. This caused the entire pontoon to cease hovering over the track and fall to the ground. Seth heard Livana utter a vicious swear in Huttese as her bike twisted sideways and began flipping side over side, twisting the deep blue swoop bike into an almost unrecognizable heap of metal.

The wrecked bike soon, unable to maintain the speed Seth and Redros were going at, vanished behind them.

Seth was silent with shock for a moment. As they entered the first turn, he looked over at where the Bek rider's swoop was being grabbed by a team of disposal droids to be hauled back to the pits.

"[Dameos, can you hear me?]" Tor-fy asked tentatively, concern clear in her voice.

Silence. Seth assumed the worst.

But then the comm crackled back on, static buzzing loudly through it. Livana's voice came through the comm once again.

"Okay... that's one way to get a nasty knock on the head." A relived grin broke though Seth's sober expression. "Oh and Avery," she continued. "Sorry kid, it looks like it's up to you."

"Oh that'll be no problem," he replied. "Redros will be complaining about a lot more than a knock on the head when I'm finished with him." With that, Seth once again focused his concentration one the race.

His lesson learned, he brought his bike away from the outer wall, banging into Redros' swoop while he was at it, but not quite the the ferocity he had earlier. Redros struck back, however before he could make contact, Seth swerved forwards, firmly gaining the lead.

The Vulkar tried to knock his engines out like he did with Go'lung, but once again, Seth knew exactly what to do, veering from side to side, foiling Redros' attempts to line up with his engines.

Seth recalled one of the things his commander had told him.

_'Sometimes you don't have time to think. When that happens, just let the battle take over you. Focus on nothing. Use your instincts. Thinking will get you killed.'_

And that was exactly what he was doing, his mind was clear, he wasn't thinking, instead using his instincts to dictate his actions. It was a trance like state. He hardly even registered completing the one hundred ninety-third lap. The sound of the engines was like it was coming from a distance, he no longer saw the cockpit, only the track ahead. He made his bike flow along with its contours.

The ninety-fourth was completed. By now, even his breathing and heartbeat was at a normal, steady rate. The track was simple, straightaway then turn then straightaway then turn and repeat. The movements of the control sticks needed to guide the bike around came naturally now.

His calm finally slipped when he realized that he was on the final lap. His heartbeat once again climbed back up to its excited gallop.

However, this also caused Redros to become more desperate in his efforts to regain the lead. The attempts on hitting Seth's bike became much more frequent. An especially hard one was delivered just as they entered the first turn.

Incidentally, this locked the maneuvering flaps they used to navigate the turn to get tangled together, effectively locking the two swoops with each other.

Seth couldn't believe this, but really in a way, he could. He tried to pull out of this unsolicited pairing. Redros was doing the same thing. Seth could hear the metal straining, but it remained stuck together.

While going down the second straightaway it was all Seth could do to keep his bike going in a straight line. Now Redros was also trying the smash Seth's bike into the wall. The battle to keep from losing control again was one that Seth knew he was losing. He needed to break away from the Vulkar's bike and he needed to do it fast. But he also didn't want to tear his swoop in half either, so trying to turn sideways to break away wasn't a good option either.

He found himself wishing for the extra speed the prototype had given him in the previous laps, if he could gain enough speed, he could probably break away from the other bike with minimal damage to his own.

Once again, he attempted to reactivate the prototype accelerator, first trying to reroute the flow through the energy lining, next powering it directly from the energy cells. Neither of those worked.

He was now nearing he second turn, if he unable to undo his current predicament, he didn't know if he could win. Always go for a sure outcome, that was another thing he taught.

Seth growled with frustration, slamming a gloved fist down on the display screen. "Stupid 'cutting edge' piece of-" he was interrupted by the accelerator suddenly whining back to life, providing a sudden burst of speed.

This unexpected boost did turn out to be all he needed. As Seth entered the final turn, he dimly heard a sharp crack as his maneuvering flap tore off Redros', resulting in the Vulkar losing control and crashing into the outer wall of the track in the most satisfactory manner possible.

The next thing he knew, he flew across the finish line.

Seth pulled back on the throttle as far as he could, slowly coming to a stop. The entire Bek pit crew ran out onto the track and surrounded his bike. Yelling ecstatically, they motioned for Seth to exit the swoop.

Sliding down the canopy, he stood up. The noise of the crowd was one unlike anything Seth had ever heard in his life.

Raising the tinted visor of his helmet, he stared at the grandstands. Everyone seemed to be moving in one way or another, be it cheering their victorious team or booing it, he couldn't tell. All that was certain was that the noise they were making could probably be heard for miles.

Stepping down, Seth was instantly mobbed by his pit crew, who all seemed to want to give him a pat on the back or shake his hand. The other Beks that could came out onto the track to add to the crowd surrounding their triumphant rider.

Soon enough, the two other Bek riders managed to muscle their way through the teeming throng to personally congratulate.

Livana only had a few bruises and a thin bandage wrapped around a lekku , and judging by the little Seth knew of Bith expressions, Go'lung looked very happy. Livana's excitement was easier to tell, by the way she was ginning from one red ear to the other. Fortunately after the mandatory hand shake and back-slap, or in Livana's case giving him a crushing hug, they started assisting him through the gathering crowd of congratulatory Beks.

He had won.

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Later, in the winners circle, Seth finally met back up with Carth, Mission and Zaalbar. He caught sight of them as they pushed through the crowd of Beks that had

Seth started to give Carth a crisp salute, but then he remembered that he didn't want to draw attention to his military mannerisms, plus the fact that he still had his helmet on. "Thanks for the pilot's charm sir, I think it may have helped." he held out the star shaped pendant, offering it back.

Carth shook his head. "Nah, keep it, you never know when you'll have to race again. And besides, given your performance out there, you probably wore it out."

Mission rolled her brown eyes. "Or, he's just that good."

"I agree with Mission," Zaalbar chimed in. "You raced with much skill Seth."

"And how exactly would you know that Big Z?" Mission looked up at her Wookiee companion. "It's not as if your attention was on anything besides the free food you got during the entire race," she turned back to Seth who had been watching with no small amount on amusement at this entire exchange. "Well I guess you're famous now, you can expect every other girl to be throwing themselves at your feet wherever you go."

By the way Seth's cheek came up and made an eye squint, Mission guessed he was smirking under his helmet. "Oh trust me Mission, they'd just be after fame by association, not my looks, and that's not cool with me."

"Oh don't sell yourself short," she replied. "You are kinda cute."

Seth's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so?" He fought back a triumphant grin. His lips quirked up a bit at the corners, however.

Mission rolled her eyes again. "But don't bury yourself in the part either."

He shrugged. "Nah s'okay, I was going for the 'dashing' or the 'stunningly handsome' look, maybe I should grow a beard?" he tapped a leather encased finger against the area where his mouth would be under his helmet, considering.

Shaking her head, Mission smiled at him. "Oh wait I forgot, burying yourself in the part is your calling."

Seth shrugged. "It's what I do."

Their conversation was interrupted by a Duros holding a microphone stepping up on the platform. A camera droid hover close by as he began speaking. "Ladies and Gentelmen, it is the pleasure of the Professional Swoop Racing League to introduce our new champion," he waved Seth up to the stand. "Representing the Hidden Bek gang, Micheal Fure!"

It took Seth a few milliseconds to remember his alias, he waved to the cheering crowd. He could make out his image on the huge display screens placed around the stadium. In the back, he saw his fellow riders waving back at him. Seth felt as if he could do anything.

It was at that time when Brejik stepped up to the platform followed by the defeated Redros and a sizable number of Vulkars following him. Seth waved sarcastically at him and at Redros he held up all his fingers except for his fourth and thumb, which was considered a very obscene gesture among the Nikto. Both Vulkar leader and rider were absolutely fuming at Seth's show of impertinence.

The Duros turned to the newly arrived gang leader. "And here to present the grand prize in person, the leader of the Black Vulkar gang: Brejik!"

Brejik stepped forward and eyed Seth with a mixture of rage, disgust and self-assured superiority. He turned to the gathering. "Before I present the so-called 'champion' of the Beks their prize," he gestured at a nearby cage where Seth could see a tall, brown-haired woman, however her posture was slumped and her head was looking down at the ground, so

Seth couldn't make out her face. "There is something you all must know; the winning rider cheated!"

Seth's head snapped back to the Vulkar leader. "You're a stinking liar Brejik! I didn't know you were such a bad loser!" the crowd laughed at this. Except for the Vulkars, whose collective glower remained.

Brejik looked directly at Seth, wild-eyed. "Your swoop bike was using a prototype accelerator, clearly an unfair advantage! And now because of this blatant show of treachery from the Hidden Beks," he twisted the last two words like a curse. "I am withdrawing our share of the victory prize!"

The Duros spoke again. "You cannot do this Brejik! You cannot withdraw the prize after it has already been won, regardless of whether the winning rider cheated! It goes against our oldest and most sacred traditions!"

The dark-skinned man whirled back around to the Duros. "You old dithering fool! Your dusty, outdated traditions are nothing to me! Nothing! It is time for the future! And I am the future!" he pulled out his blaster and shot the Duros in the head, shattering it like a ripe melon. "Vulkars to me! Kill this filthy Bek! Kill them all!"

Pandemonium ensued as the Vulkars pulled blasters out and started shooting blindly, not caring whether or not it was Beks they hit. Several people in the crowd fell, some wounded, others dead. Seth saw Livana, Go'lung, Tor-fy and the rest of the pit crew who were all fourtuatly the the rear of the crowd, flee for their lives.

Seth dove out of the way as a Vulkar took aim at him, blaster shots lanced through the air where he had stood a second before. Mission, Carth and Zaalbar charged up the small set of stairs leading to the platform. Mission and Carth were firing their blasters at the attacking Vulkars while Zaalbar whipped out a vibroblade and started hacking away at the nearest enemy.

Carth tossed a blaster to Seth who made a grab at it. And missed. Spiraling away, Seth's eyes tracked it until it finally came to rest a few feet from him. He made a dive for the blaster. However, another hand also was reaching for it. A green Nikto hand that Seth saw belonged to Redros. They both grabbed it at the same time. But it was Seth that grabbed it around the handle. Straining against Redros' attempt to pull it away from his hand, he twisted the blaster up until it was pointing at the Vulkar. Seth shot him three times in the stomach. Redros slumped to the ground and lay still.

All around Seth, Beks were grappling with Vulkars, trying to wrestle the blasters out of their hands. Sometimes ta Bek managed to gain the weapon and start fighting back, while other times they would end up shot dead. Bodies were piling up, blood ran of many different species ran together. But the Beks who stood and fought were outnumbered and outmatched by the ferocity of the vengeful Vulkars.

Easily spotted by his signature orange jacket, Carth was holding his own against the swarm of enemies. A blaster in each hand, he downed Vulkar after Vulkar, the gang thugs no match for his military training and experience.

Mission however, was in trouble. She and Zaalbar had become separated by the fighting. Her blaster had been destroyed by a near miss and she had dropped her vibroblade. She was frantically searching for it among the bodies on the ground. A hand grabbed her lekku and pulled her head back until she was staring into the grimacing face of another male Twi'lek Vulkar. She was weaponless and the Vulkar was hefting a vibroblade in a sickly green hand. Ironically, Mission saw that it was her own. Her breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to die, but all she could do was watch and wait for the killing blow to be made.

But it never came. In fact, she was very surprised to see the thin blade suddenly jut out from the Vulkar's chest. And appearantly, the Vulkar was too, an expression of utter shock frozen on his face as he toppled forwards. Seth stood a few meters behind the Vulkar, blaster gripped in one hand as he ran forward to grab Striker with the other. Mission knew that he would've had to make his sword curve in midair to hit the Vulkar that cleanly. She didn't know how it was possible, but she was thankful for Seth's special talents.

She pulled Striker out of the Vulkar's corpse and tossed it back to him. He grabbed it and brought it to bear just in time to meet a heavy blow from an enraged Brejik. Seth staggered under the brute force of the strike. He had to block again as Brejik pushed his furious attack, each hit becoming more and more taxing on Seth's defense.

'Use your head Avery!' he told himself, taking a swipe at Brejik's midriff. The Vulkar leader jumped back, the swipe only scoring the silver armor he wore.

"You may pull some fancy moves out on the track wormo," the dark-skinned human jeered. "But in a real fight, you're no match for a real man!"

"When do you think I can get to fighting him then?" he asked flippantly.

Brejik uttered an feral growl and swung at Seth again. This time, his vibrosword broke the end of Seth's much more lightweight sword off and continued until to smashed into the side of Seth's riding helmet. If he had taken it off, his head would now be in two pieces. Brejik took opportunity of Seth's downed defenses and sliced a short but deep cut on Seth's sword arm.

A grunt muffled by his helmet was all that was elicited from Seth. Defiantly, he struck back with Striker, which was now almost a quarter shorter, slashing and thrusting over and over again at Brejik. He seemed completely oblivious to the blood running down the length of his arm. With one last blow with all his strength behind it, he locked blades with Brejik. It was a test of strength now, each straining with all their might to force the locked blades against the other. Seth could see surprise register on Brejik's face as he found that Seth could easily match him in such a trial of muscles.

"Say your prayers wormo, because the last thing you're gonna see in this-" Brejik was interrupted by a snap-hiss sound and a bright streak of yellow that swept his sneering head right off his shoulders.

Seth didn't get the chance to see who it was, because she immediately set on the remaining Vulkars, her twin bladed lightsaber twirling and dancing through the air as it cut down enemies in droves. Shortly after, every single Vulkar was down.

Bodies carpeted the ground around them. Everyone else had fled the site of the brawl. A strange silence suddenly decended.

However, the silence was quickly broken as the newcomer, the brown haired woman he had seen in the cage earlier, turned to face him. "Well maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice next time they try to hold a Jedi prisoner."

This must be Commander Shan, Seth realized in an instant. Thoughts of how hot she was were quickly set aside as he struggled to get his helmet off.

"And as for you boy," she continued, her voice becoming as brittle as ice. "If you think you are going to take me as a prize-" she stopped as Seth finally managed to pull his helmet from his head. Bastila's eyes widened. "Wait, I don't believe this! You're- you're one of the soldiers from the Republic fleet aren't you? Yes I'm sure of it! How did you end up racing for these swoop gangs?"

Seth immediately fell into his military mindset, becoming straight as a rod in an instant and saluting crisply. "Private second class Seth Avery of the 2902 Infantry Battalion reporting for duty ma'am!" his voice was as clear as it would be on any parade ground.

"At ease Private, we don't have time for this," Bastila waved her hand impatiently. "Pleased to meet you."

"Thank you ma'am." Seth dropped his salute and relaxed his stance. She looked extremely familiar, he just couldn't place her face.

"Bastila! You're alive!" Carth shouted as he ran up to them. "Come on! We need to get out of here before the Sith show up to sort out this mess.

Bastila nodded and turned back to Seth. "The Captain's right, we need to get moving, get you friend and let's leave."

Seth saluted again, turned and waved over Zaalbar and Mission.

Then it struck him, he remembered where he had seen Bastila before.

She was the woman from his nightmares.


	7. Getting Off Taris For Dummies

**Hey, all!**

**Sorry this took a while to get up. I had the chapter written, but I sent it to my beta reader, like, five times. I never got any reply whatsoever so I fugured after a few weeks that I should just give up on him beta-ing this and get it up for you readers. ('Cause I love you all so much, see?)**

**Anyways, this is a bridge-type chapter between the race and Sith Base Break-In. So it might not be too good and there isn't any action in it at all, but hey, I'm not God. However, there is an embarrassing moment for Mission in here, along with some major intimidation on Canderous' part that leaves Seth nearly fainting. So, it's not like this is crap on a stick or anything...**

**Oh, what the heck? Just go ahead and read the freaking story, will ya?**

**-DarthBubbles**

* * *

Mission hugged Seth once they got back to the run down apartment that the group had called home for the past five weeks. "Congratulations! Again!"

Seth hugged her back with one arm, the other holding his racing helmet. "Thanks… again." He laughed. "I guess it's time to celebrate. Nerfburgers?"

"No," Bastila corrected. "It's time to get a plan together to get out of here."

Seth touched his forehead in a two fingered salute. "Yes ma'am. Any ideas?"

Bastila looked from Seth to Carth and back again. "You mean you don't even have a plan yet? What have you been doing all this time?"

"Searching for you, ma'am," Seth explained politely, still ramrod straight. Mission rolled her eyes. He always had to be a soldier, didn't he? She respected her new friend's charitable heart, but he really needed to learn to be a bit selfish, just for his own good.

"Well, now that I'm back in charge of this mission, things should go much more smoothly."

"What do you suggest, ma'am?"

"I don't have any plans just yet," Bastila answered. "But, I'm sure the Force shall guide us."

"Hold up," Carth said. "We can't just put our faith blindly in some Force that only one of us can exploit. We need something more solid than that."

"Don't forget, Carth, that this is _my_ mission," Bastila argued. "And I am your commanding officer."

"Bastila, I know you're new at this, but an officer doesn't just order their soldiers around or rebuke them when things are going bad. They listen to the input of their troops."

"Captain Onasi has a point, ma'am," Seth said.

"Fine," Bastila said, trying to hide her irritation. "Zaalbar, your thoughts?"

"[I don't trust myself with a decision as big as this. I also do not know Taris well. I have no ideas.]" The Wookiee shrugged.

Bastila gave him a curt nod. "And you, Miss Vao?"

Mission sighed. "I don't know. Not even the Ebon Hawk can make it through the blockade. We need to find a ship, but more importantly, those departure codes that can prevent us from getting blasted into oblivion."

"Private Avery?"

"I say we just wing it, ma'am. That's how we got our start in our search for you. Something'll come up."

"See, Carth?" Bastila said. "Trust in the Force."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, that's not what I said," Seth explained. "I don't even know what the Force is, much less know how to trust it."

"Well," Carth said. "We all agree that the main objectives here are to get a ship and those codes."

"Yes, sir," Seth said.

"We'll just figure our how to do that after we explore a bit. Let's go."

"Yes, sir."

Mission followed Seth as he walked out of the complex and into the Upper City streets. They both leaned against the railing, looking out at the cityscape before them.

"You don't have to stay, you know," Seth said.

"What?" Mission asked, confused.

"You've already done what you'd said you'd do. You got us into the Vulkar Base. If you want, you can go back to regular life, or whatever you did before you met us."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Dunno. Your choice," Seth said with a shrug.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Of course not. But I don't want you to waste your life for mine."

"Of all the ways I could 'waste my life,' Seth, this isn't one of them. You're probably one of the best friends I've had in my life, along with Big Z. Why would I want to go?"

"I don't know. I thought you'd get tired of Soldier Boy."

Mission put an arm around him. "Never."

* * *

After nearly five days, the group's searching finally yielded fruitful results.

Seth was leaning against the wall of the complex, just outside of the apartment, fixing up his light brown fauxhawk in the reflective head of an astromech droid. "Commander Shan?" he asked as he ran the comb through his hair, spiking it down the middle. "Are you coming, ma'am?"

"Just a minute, Private Avery," she said. "Have patience."

"Patience is the one thing I can't have," Seth grumbled under his breath.

At that moment, a green skinned Twi'lek appeared, nearly breathless. "You…" he began. "You are the Taris Swoop Champion, are you not?"

"Yeah…" Seth said warily. "Why?"

"I know what you're thinking," the Twi'lek said. "You think I'm some crazed fan asking for an autoprint. I'm not. I have a message from Canderous Ordo."

"Candy What?" Seth asked, confused.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't know who Canderous Ordo is?" the Twi'lek asked in disbelief.

"Well, I haven't actually met him!" Seth said defensively.

"He's a Mandalorian-"

"Mandalorian?!" Seth squeaked.

"Yes. A very fearsome one at that. To add to that, he works for Davik. You know who Davik is, don't you?"

Seth blew air out from his mouth and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah. I've heard of him alright. What does Candy- Cando- What does he want?"

"He didn't say, only to meet him in the cantina down the street. Given that he is a Mandalorian-"

"I probably don't wanna keep him waiting," Seth finished for him. "Thanks for the message." Seth tossed him five credits. As the Twi'lek stalked off, Seth leaned inside the open door of the apartment. "Commander Shan, I've received an invitation. It seems promising, ma'am. Permission to go?"

"What kind of invitation, Private Avery?" Bastila asked, scrunching up her face in a manner that Seth was beginning to think made her look like a kinrath pup.

"A meeting with one of Davik's men, ma'am. A Mandalorian."

"A Mandalorian?!?" Carth asked, walking up to them from behind Seth. The boy jumped. The captain had been sent out to find information by Bastila, along with Mission and Zaalbar, and had been gone for some time.

"Yes, Sir," Seth answered with a salute. "It seems promising."

"How?" Carth asked. "How could meeting with one of those monsters possibly seem promising?"

Seth hesitated. "I… I'm not sure, Sir. I'm just getting a gut feeling. And I'm rarely wrong when I rely on my gut. Sir."

Carth eyed him skeptically. "I'm not for it."

"It's risky," Bastila said. "But I believe we could get something beneficial from this. Carth, since you feel so uneasy about this, Private Avery and I will go. You and your party can keep an eye on operations from here."

"How will we be able to recognize the Mandalorian, ma'am?" Seth asked. "I sure haven't seen him."

"Don't worry. We'll find him, Private."

Seth shrugged and gave Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar a little wave and salute. Then he turned to follow Bastila out of the apartment. She was a little down the hall, so he had to jog a bit to catch up with her.

"Private Avery?" she asked when he finally fell into step beside her.

"Yes, ma'am? Do you want to speak with me about something?"

"I'm curious about your presence at the swoop race. What exactly were you doing there?"

"We were rescuing you, ma'am," Seth stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I know of your rescue attempts. But I know there couldn't have been flashing signs pointing in my direction."

"There were at the Race," Seth said. "Brejik wanted to make sure everyone knew what his prize was."

"Not literally!" Bastila said in an irritated tone. She paused for a minute, to calm herself don, Seth suspected. When she continued, her voice was back to normal. "I'm just wondering how you came to your conclusions. You crash landed in the Upper City, found a way down into the Lower and Under Cities, discovered that I was held captive by the Black Vulkars, found a way to race for the Hidden Beks, and became the Taris Swoop Champion. All at the age of seventeen."

"Sixteen."

"No difference. The point I am making is that you, Seth Avery, are quite the talented individual."

Seth grinned. "Thank you ma'am. But I didn't work alone. Captain Onasi and Zaalbar and Mission helped."

Bastila smiled at him. "I appreciate your humility, Private, but it is clear that you were the ringleader here. A Jedi could have done such things easily, but only by relying heavily on the Force. You, however, are just a Private in the Republic Army."

"I think you're underestimating us non Force users," Seth said.

"Perhaps. But there are some outside our Order that we consider Force sensitive. I have a feeling you're one of them."

Seth stopped in his tracks. "Hold up. I can't use the Force!"

"I- I'm sorry. I was speaking out of turn. This is a matter for the Jedi Council to resolve. For now, let's stay focused on our mission."

As Seth began to walk again, he shook his head. "How do you expect me to focus on my mission when you tell me I can use the _Force_?!?" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Mission sat on the workbench, letting her legs swing a little. How many times was Seth going to go alone on missions with Bastila? Did he like her so much that he would hardly spend a waking moment not in her presence? He'd been by her side almost 24/7 since they had found her.

It wasn't that Mission didn't like being with Carth or Zaalbar. Zaalbar was her best friend, and Carth encouraged her, but Seth was different. He wasn't just there for her, he _understood_ her. Seth had lived her experiences. He knew what the effects of war were on youth, because he'd been there. He knew what it was like to live without knowing your parents, because he'd never known his. Seth knew what it was like to be a teenager in the war torn galaxy that they lived in, because he was one.

Seth never failed to make her laugh, smile, feel better when she was down. Before Bastila came, he'd always talked with Mission, walked next to her, tried to educe a giggle from her with cheesy jokes. But now that the Jedi Commander had joined them, Seth hardly spent any time with Mission. He spent his time taking orders from and running errands for Bastila, hardly realizing that she was treating him as if he was her personal slave, just because of rank.

"Bored?" Carth asked, shaking Mission out of her thoughts. He sat on one of the two lone bunks, which were occupied by Mission and Bastila during the night. The thought of the bunks brought back memories of Seth. When Mission had joined the group, Carth and Seth were the only ones using the bunks, and Seth had offered up his. However, after a while, Seth and Carth ended up taking turns with it. But the arrogant Jedi that had joined them received the bunk, and refused to share.

Mission shrugged. "I guess."

Carth chuckled. "He sure livens things up."

"Yeah," Mission said, trying to keep her voice from sounding miserable.

"Bastila's way too old for him, Mission."

The statement made Mission's eyebrows shoot sky high. "What?"

"Seth is six years younger than Bastila. She's too old for him. At least, until he's an adult. Then it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that if you're worried Seth and Bastila will develop feelings for each other, they won't."

"And.. Why would I be worried about that?"

"Mission, I may be old, but I'm not stupid. I can see what's going on between the two of you."

Mission struggled for words. "I- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Yes, you do. And don't be afraid of it. You two would be what some people would call a 'cute couple.'"

"Me and _Seth_?!?" Mission exclaimed incredulously. "He's my friend, not my lover!"

"Not yet, anyways," Carth mumbled. Mission guessed he meant to keep her from hearing, but his voice was barely audible.

"Carth, I'm fourteen! I don't even know what love is!" She could feel her cheeks getting hotter from embarrassment, and assumed that it was giving her blue skin a red tinge.

"Love is a good thing, I'll tell you that."

"I don't care! I'm a teenager! The fate of the galaxy is at stake an you of all people are telling me to pursue a relationship with a guy I'm too young for!"

"Two years- it doesn't make a difference. You're not a kid, Mission."

"I know that!" she snapped. "But Seth wouldn't think of me that way."

"You never know. What attracts you to him is what attracts him to you."

Mission sighed with exasperation and slumped her shoulders. "But he's so nice, and cute, and funny, and…" Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying. Frowning, she jabbed a finger at Carth's chest. "What makes you think I have feelings for him anyways?" she asked while putting on her best 'I-Don't-Like-Seth-That-Way' Face.

Carth just laughed.

* * *

"You there!"

Seth's head whipped around when he heard the gruff voice. He squinted in the cantina's poor light to make out a tall, muscular, imposing figure. He touched Bastila's arm. "I think that's our guy."

Bastila turned. "I believe you're right. I hope he does not plan to use any trickery or deceit."

Seth nodded in acknowledgement and started for the man he assumed was the Mandalorian they were looking for. He nearly whimpered once he was within five feet. Up close, the man seemed much taller, and Seth had to tilt his head up almost all the way to make eye contact. Scars crisscrossed across his face, making him look much tougher than he already was. Graying hair was in a flattop style atop his head, and his eyes were another sharp shade of grey.

"You Mike Fure?"

"Um… no." Seth said. "I'm Seth Avery, Taris Swoop Champion. Fure was my racing name."

"Hnh. I like you already, kid. I'm Canderous, of the Mandalorian Clan Ordo." Canderous held out a meaty hand, which dwarfed Seth's much smaller one as they shook hands.

"What did you want to speak about?" Seth asked.

"Look," Canderous said, keeping his voice low. "I know you want to get off this planet. We all do. Anyways, I know how to get off, but I need you to do something for me first."

"Like what?"

"This is why I picked you for the job. The departure codes are locked away safely in the Sith Base. I figured, if you're crazy enough to race the way you did, and you can fight as well as you did in that brawl afterwards, you are perfect material to break into the Military Base."

"_What_?!?" Seth nearly screamed.

"You heard me."

"No way. The Sith will outnumber us twenty to one!"

"_Us_?" Canderous asked. "No, this is your end of the bargain. You get the codes, and I get you a ship."

"How will you do that?"

"Uh uh," Canderous said, shaking his head. "You need to get those codes first, before I tell you anything."

"But how will I even get in? My friend Mission is the best security slicer I've ever known, and she can't even get in."

"She may be the best _organic_ slicer, but there's a droid that Davik is having personally made to be able to break into that base. You just get your little backside over to Janice Nall's droid shop, and tell her Canderous sent you. Then buy the droid T3-M4."

"How much is it?"

"Only about 2000."

"2000!" Seth shouted, causing several people to look at them.

"Shut up, _di'kut_!" Canderous hissed. "Sith hang out here, you know! I'll give you the money, okay? But if you don't come back with that droid, I'll personally shoot you off planet!"

"I- uh…" Seth stuttered.

"It's a deal," Bastila said from behind him.

"Good," Canderous said. "When you have those codes, meet me in Javyar's Cantina. I'll be waiting."

"Oh. My Force," Seth stuttered. "He's scary."

_To Be Continued...._


	8. Getting Off Taris For Dummies Beta'd

**Hey, all!**

**here's the beta'd version of my last chapter! Just to let you know, the formatting's a bit screwed up, so...**

**-DarthBubbles**

* * *

When Seth finally returned to the ramshackle apartment that he and his small group had called home for the past several weeks, Mission gave him another one of her crushing hugs.

"Congratulations! Again!" she chirped, her grin all but splitting her face in two. Seth winced as Mission aggravated his hastily-dressed wounds. But a short laugh nonetheless escaped his lips. "Thanks," he said carefully, masking his discomfort, "I guess it's time to celebrate then. Nerfburgers anyone?" "No," Bastila interjected, "It's time to figure out a way off this planet." Immediately, Seth's face became serious once again. He acknowledged his commanding officer with a two-fingered salute, nodding in agreement. "Yes ma'am. Any ideas, ma'am?" Bastila looked from Seth to Carth and back again, taken aback. "You mean you don't even have a plan yet?" she asked incredulously, "What have you been doing all this time?" "Searching for you, ma'am," Seth explained politely, still ramrod straight. Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Mission observed Seth's sudden change in demeanor. Rolling her eyes, she wondered why he always had to be a soldier. She respected her friend's charitable and loyal heart, but he needed to learn to be a bit selfish, just for his own good. Regaining her composure, Bastila rolled on, "Well, now that I am once again in command of this mission perhaps things can run more smoothly." "What do you have in mind?" Carth asked from his half-sitting position on the workbench. Frowning, Bastila hooked some loose hair behind her ear, considering, "Well, I don't have any plans as of yet," she admitted, almost painfully, "But I trust the Force will reveal a path to us." "Hold on," he argued, straightening, "We can't just put our faith blindly in some Force that only one of use can exploit, we need to be able to rely on something more solid than that." "Captain Onasi, do not forget that this is my mission," Bastila rebuked sternly, as if talking to a child, "I am your commanding officer, and you should trust that what I decide is for the good of the mission." "Ma'am, if you don't mind my pointing out, Carth and I managed to find our way to you, and we didn't have to fall back on the Force at all," Seth reminded her. The Jedi turned a chastising glare at Seth. "I do not remember asking your opinion, Private," she emphasized his rank. Seth shut his mouth, quelling further words, his gaze fell to the ground. Mission remaining silent through the whole confrontation, but focused her glare at the back of Bastila's head. She came to realize she didn't like Bastila very much at all. Carth stepped forward again. "Bastila, I know you're new at this, but a commander doesn't order her troops around and rebuke them when things start going south. You should at least consider listening to the input of your men." This seemed to get through to Bastila, whose demeanor seemed to calm somewhat, "Fine, I apologize Carth," irritation still clung in the undertones of her voice, "The last few weeks have been very trying for me," she looked about the room for those whose opinions she hadn't heard yet, "Zaalbar, what are your thoughts?" she inquired when her eyes settled on the stoic Wookiee. "[I wouldn't trust myself with a decision as big as this,]" he rumbled, "[Besides, I don't know Taris very well outside of the Lower City. I have no ideas.]" Bastila gave him a curt nod. "And your Miss Vao?" Having finally been called upon, Mission pushed off the wall, shrugging, "Don't look at me. Not even the Ebon Hawk could make it through the blockade without getting slagged, and that's the fastest ship on Taris," Mission flopped down onto the spare bunk, lekku splaying out beneath her, "I guess what we really need right now is a ship, and more importantly a way to slip past the orbital defenses without getting blasted into oblivion." "Indeed," the Jedi agreed, "Very astute. And your Private Avery? Do you have any contributions you wish to share?" "I say we just wing it, ma'am. That's how we got started on the search for you. Something'll come up." "You see Carth?" Bastila turned to the dubious Captain, a pleased smile sneaking onto her face "Trust in the Force." Seth's eyebrows came together. "Ma'am, with all due respect, that's not what I said," he clarified, "I don't even know what the Force is, much less how to use it, so I don't see how I could put my trust in it." "Well," Carth cut off Bastila before she could say anything more, "We all agree that our main objectives are to find a ship and a way past the Sith defenses. Let's get to it people." "Yes sir," Seth nodded. "Private Avery?" he perked at Bastila's prompt, "Would you excuse the Captain and I?" He saluted, "Yes ma'am," and strode from the sparse apartment without another word. His movements practiced and crisp, like a machine. Both Carth and Bastila began to speak in hushed tones. From what Mission's sensitive ears were able to discern, the two seemed to be deciding --or bickering-- over where to begin their efforts. Uninterested in listening to the two adults, Mission levered off the bunk, heading off in the direction Seth had gone. After searching up and down the hallways of the apartment complex, Mission finally located the young Republic soldier leaning against the railing of the platform outside the complex. She silently joined him, resting her elbows against the railing and cupping her chin in her palms. Seth acknowledged her presence with the slightest of nods her way.

His short hair fluttered in the breeze, catching the late afternoon sun as he faced out into the sea of unknown personified in the sprawl of buildings of the Upper City. Both of them were remained silent for what seemed like hours.

"You don't have to stay, you know," Seth's words finally broke the still waters of silence.

Mission was startled by his statement and pulled her eyes from the Tarisian skyline to Seth.

"What?" She scratched the root of her lekku in confusion.

"You've already done what we agreed on, and more. We got Zaalbar back and you got us into the Vulkar base. You can go back to your regular, normal life, if you want. You can go back to doing

what you did before you met us."

"What if I don't want to?"

Running a hand through his hair, he shrugged. "Dunno, your choice."

"You want me to leave? Is that it?" an eyebrow quirked its question at him.

"Frak no," he insisted, turning to face her fully, "But I don't don't want you wasting your life for mine."

Mission laughed. "Of all the ways I could 'waste my life' Seth, this isn't one of them. I've only know you for a few weeks, but your one of the best friends I've had in my life, along with Big Z. You even saved us both, multiple times. Why would I want to leave?"

"The fact that I had to do any saving in the first place?" Seth couldn't help but smile himself, "I don't know, I guess you would have gotten tired of-" he made quotation marks with his fingers, "-

"Soldier Boy" by now."

She smirked at him. "Nah, you're way too much fun for me to get tired of this fast."

Rolling his eyes, Seth replied, "Well I suppose it's good to know that my habit of finding trouble that nearly gets me killed is entertaining to some people."

____________________________________________

Everyone spent the following days were spent mostly out of the apartments searching for anything that might help them escape Taris. Everyone at the exception of Zaalbar, who preferred to avoid the ostracism of the Upper City and stay indoors with the other illegal alien residents of the apartments.

Seth and Bastila, who usually got back to the apartments before of Carth and Mission, would often find the towering Wookiee hunched over some new piece of tech he was able to build using spare parts the group brought him to pass the time. Sometimes it was a new type of grenade, or a modified blaster, but the group always found uses for the results of Zaalbar's mechanically-oriented pastime.

It was in the late afternoon of the fifth day that possible fruit of their searching revealed itself. Seth was leaning against the wall just outside their apartment, fixing up his light brown fauxhawk in the reflective surface of the top of an Astromech droid.

"Commander Shan?" he called quietly, running his steel comb across his head, spiking the hair down the middle, "Are you coming ma'am?"

"One moment, Private," came her muffled voice, "Have some patience."

Frustration demanded a growl, which Seth kept under his breath, "Patience is something I'm out of at the moment."

At that moment, Seth heard movement behind him; heavy footfalls approaching at a rapid pace. His hand strayed near his holstered blaster as he turned about to face whoever it was.

A green-skinned Twi'lek man ran up to him, breathless, "You..." he began, but was forced to take another gasp of air, "You are the Taris Swoop Champion?"

"Who wants to know?" Seth asked warily, his hand did not move from its position. Several times before he had been approached by Swoop enthusiasts wanting his autoprint, or disgruntled watchers who called him a fluke of a champion. He didn't know if this one was part of the latter group or not.

The Twi'lek held up his hands, "I know what you're thinking; I'm just another crazy fan wanting an autoprint. Trust me, I'm not," he was forced to take another series of breaths before he could continue, "I have a message from Canderous Ordo."

"Candy-who?"

"Can-der-ous Or-do," the Twi'lek laid out for him slowly, "Oh, don't tell me you don't know who he is!"

Seth squared his shoulders defensively. "Well I haven't actually met him!"

"He's a Mandalorian-"

"A Mandalorian!" Seth exclaimed, voice breaking.

The Twi'lek nodded sagely. "Oh yes, and very vicious one at that. And he works for Davik," he cocked his head to the side, "You do know who Davik is don't you?

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Seth exhaled heavily. "Yeah, I've heard of him alright. What does Candy- Candari - Cano-" he gave up, "What does he want?"

"He didn't say, only to meet him in the cantina a few blocks down, you know the place?" Seth nodded, "And given that he is a Mandalorian, and his connections to Davik-"

"I wouldn't want to keep him waiting," Seth finished for him. The Twi'lek looked pleased at his comprehension, "Thanks for the message," Seth tossed him five credits, "You don't know where I live."

When he was satisfied the Twi'lek had gone, Seth ducked back into the apartment.

"Commander Shan? I've just recieved an invitation. It seems pretty promising, ma'am. Permission to go?"

"What sort of invitation, Private Avery?" Bastila asked, crossing her arms, looking dubious, as if she suspected he were trying to sneak out to a clandestine party.

"It's a meeting with one of Davik's men, ma'am. A Mandalorian."

"A Mandalorian?!" Carth exploded from behind Seth, who jumped in surprise; the captain had been out with Mission and Zaalbar for some time, looking for other leads.

"Yes sir. It seems promising," he repeated.

"How?" Carth asked darkly, "How could going to meet with one of those brutes be promising?"

Seth hesitated in the face of Carth's reaction. "I'm not sure sir, I have a gut feeling. I'm rarely wrong when I rely on my gut, sir."

"Like when you believe it's imperative to eat a third of our food?" Mission offered, her wit going unnoticed by the three.

Carth eyed Seth skeptically. "Well I'm not for it."

"I'll agree that it is risky," Bastila said, "But if there is a chance that we might glean something beneficial from this, I fear we must take that chance at this point. Since you feel so uneasy about this,

perhaps you should stay here while Private Avery and I meet with this Mandalorian, whoever he is."

"Canderous Ordo," Seth told her.

"An Ordo?" Carth mouthed, more perturbed than ever.

Bastila tapped her fingers against her thigh in impatience, "It's settled then; Carth will stay here with the others, while Private Avery and I go find out what this Canderous wants."

"How will we be able to recognize him, ma'am? Neither of us has seen him before."

"We will find him, Private," she assured him, "Or perhaps he will find you."

"Somehow that doesn't comfort me."

Pulling on a long cloak to help shield her face from unfriendly eyes, Bastila beconed Seth with a wave of her hand as she strode from the apartment. Seth quickly pulled on his cargo vest, and gave the others a short wave and salute.

When he left the apartment, following Bastila, she was already a ways down the hall, her dark cloak flapping behind her as she strode confidently forwards. He had to jog for a bit to catch up with her.

"Private Avery?" she asked when he finally fell into step next to her.

"Yes ma'am? Is there something you want to talk about?"

She looked at him, somewhat surprised at his astuteness. "I would. I am curious about your presence at the swoop race. Tell me; what exactly were you doing there?"

"Rescuing you, ma'am," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I'm well acquainted with your... rescue attempts," she said, as if slightly amused, "But it couldn't have been easy for you. I highly doubt there were flashing signs pointing you in my direction,

yet somehow you still ended up at the swoop race."

"Actually, there were signs at the race, Brejik wanted to make sure everyone knew where his grand prize was."

"Not literally!" Bastila clarified in an irritated tone. She went silent for a minute, to calm herself down Seth suspected. When she continued, her tone was back to normal, "I'm just wondering how exactly you came to your conclusions. You crash-landed in the Upper City, made you way to the Lower and Under cities, determined I was a Vulkar prisoner and found a way to help the Beks win the race and became the Taris Swoop Champion. Quite a resume to be sure, and all at the age of seventeen.

"Sixteen, ma'am."

"No difference. The point that I am trying to make is that you; Seth Avery, are a very talented individual."

Seth couldn't suppress a grin. "Thank you ma'am. But I did have good backup."

Bastila gave him a smile. "While I appreciate your humility, Private, it is nonetheless clear that you were the ringleader here. A Jedi could have done such things easily, but only by relying heavily on the Force. But you are just a private in the Republic Army."

"I think you're underestimating us non-Force users," he countered.

Tilting her head towards him, Bastila acknowledged his point. "Perhaps. But there are some outside of the Jedi Order whom we consider to be 'Force Sensitive'. A have a feeling you're one of them."

Stopping in his tracks, Seth rubbed the back of his head in disbelief. "Hold up. I can't use the Force!"

Coming to a halt several paces in front of him, Bastila peered back at him from under her hood, gray eyes almost luminescent against her shadowed face.

She gazed at the ground, wringing her hands. "I'm... I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn. This is a matter for only the Jedi Council to resolve. For now, we must focus solely on our mission, such speculation

such as this will only distract us."

As the duo began to walk again, Seth shook his head.

"How can you expect me to concentrate on the mission when you drop the "You can use the Force" bomb on me?" he muttered under his breath. If Bastila heard him, she made no sign.

____________________________________________

Mission was already bored. As she sat on the end of the workbench, swinging her legs idly, her thoughts eventually drifted to Seth. How many times had he gone on trips alone with Bastila. She knew Seth thought she was hot, even Mission conceded that, but she wondered if he really liked her so much that he would hardly spend a waking moment not in her presence. He'd been at her side constantly since her arrival into their little group. The fact that Bastila was his commanding officer did occur to her, but she could not help but be ill at ease with all the time he spent with her.

It was not that she didn't like spending time with Zaalbar and Carth, Big Z was her best friend, and Carth helped encourage her. But Seth was different somehow. He understood her like neither of the others. Seth had lived her experiences. He knew the effects war had on the youth, because he had been there. He knew what it was like to live without one's parents, because he never knew his. Seth understood what it was like for a teenager to live in a worn torn galaxy because he was one.

Seth had never failed to make her laugh, smile or just feel better when she was down. Before Bastila had come, they had usually spent the time talking to each other, or Seth tried to induce a giggle

with one of his cheesy jokes. But ever since the Jedi Commander had joined them, Seth hardly had any time to spend with her. He spent his time taking orders from and running errands for Bastila, hardly realizing that he had seemingly become her personal slave, just because of rank.

The Republic could send him to boot camp, give him a Private's insignia, shove a blaster in his hands and call him a soldier, but he still wasn't even a man yet. Not really.

"Bored?" Carth burst Mission's bubble of silent isolation and melancholy. He reclined on one of the two lone bunks, which were occupied by Mission and Bastila at night. Thinking about that brought back more memories of Seth. When Mission had joined the group, Carth and Seth were the only ones using the bunks, and Seth had offered up his. After a while, he and Carth started taking turns on the remaining bunk. But the stuck-up Jedi that had joined them received the bunk. And was disinclined to share.

Mission shrugged, "I guess."

Carth sat up, brushing hair out of his eyes. "He sure livens things up, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," she replied, making a half-hearted attempt to keep her voice from sounding miserable.

Studying a frayed point on his heavy pants, Carth didn't look up as he spoke again, "Bastila's way to old for him, Mission.

The statement made her eyebrows shoot sky-high. "What?"

"Seth's six years younger than Bastila, she's too old for him. At least, until he's an adult, then I guess it doesn't matter."

"What the fierfek do you mean by that?"

"If you're worried Seth and Bastila will develop feelings for each other, they won't," he told her as if it were he most obvious thing in the world.

She cocked her head. "Annnd...why would I be worrying about that?"

"I may be older than you, but that doesn't make me stupid. I can see what's going on between you two."

Carth's words sent Mission's verbal composure careening off balance. She struggled to form words. "What! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Yes you do, missy. It's not something to be afraid of. You two are what some people would call a 'cute couple'."

Blue cheeks darkened. "Me and Seth?!" Mission exclaimed incredulously, she couldn't believe her ears, "We're friends, not lovers!"

"Well, not yet at least," Carth muttered. Mission guessed he didn't mean to be heard, but her ears still caught the words. Her cheeks darkened even further.

"I'm fourteen, Carth! I don't even know what love is!"

"Well it's a good thing, I can tell you that much."

"I don't care!" she squawked, "You said the fate of the galaxy is at stake, and yet you're giving me advice on how to pursue a relationship-" the word came out of her mouth like a wholly foreign word, "-with a guy I'm too young for!"

"Just two years doesn't make a difference. You're not a kid, Mission." he pointed out.

Mission tucked her legs up against herself defensively. "I know that!" she snapped, "But he wouldn't think of me that way."

"Don't be so sure. You're attracted to the same traits that he is in you."

A scowl wrinkled Mission's forehead. "And what makes you think you're suddenly a master matchmaker?"

"I'm not," he admitted, "But it doesn't really take a master in this case."

She sighed in exasperation and slumped her shoulders. "Well, he is nice. And funny, and rather cute..." she snapped her mouth shut as she realized what she was saying. Frowning, she jabbed a finger at Carth.

"And what makes you think I have any 'special' feelings for him anyway?"

Carth just shook his head, hiding a smile.

____________________________________________

"Hey kid!"

Seth's head snapped about when he heard the gruff voice, searching for its origin. He squinted in the poor cantina light to make out the half-illuminated form of a tall, muscular man, sitting at a circular table near the wall of the cantina. He touched Bastila's arm to get the commander's attention.

"I think he's our guy," he whispered in her ear, pointing him out.

Bastila nodded from under her hood. "Yes, I believe you're right. I hope he has not planned to do anything foolish." her arm shifted under her cloak to where Seth knew she kept her lightsabre.

The two cautiously made their approach, making an effort to look as if they were simply meeting with a well-known acquaintance. But there was little need for such antics; the cantina patrons were busy concentrating on either their own drinks or the dancers on stage at the time.

When they came to the man's table, Seth was able to make out more of his face. He fought a wince of apprehension. He larger than life up close. Scars crisscrossed his chiseled face, and his graying hair was cut in a flattop style, complimented by steely, shaded eyes.

The man took a thick cigar from between his teeth. "You Mike Fure?"

"Yeah," Seth replied.

"I see," he rumbled as Seth and Bastila pulled out seats across from him, "Now how about your real name?"

"Excuse me?"

He laughed. "Kid, when you've been working with the scum of this galaxy as long as I have, you learn to pick up when a rookie is using an alias," leaning back, he added as an afterthought, "You hesitated when I asked your name. There can't be any pause."

"I'll keep that in mind," Seth growled through clenched teeth.

"Very good. Now how about we start over? My name is Canderous of Clan Ordo, as I'm sure you know, and you are?"

Crossing his arms defiantly, Seth leaned back in his seat. "Seth Avery."

"Seth Avery?" Canderous repeated, grinning with satisfaction, "You know what? I think I like you already."

"Thanks, I'm touched, really. So are we going to tell me why you asked me here, or are we just going to screw around for a bit longer?" he snapped.

"Yes, why did you request our presence?" Bastila hijacked him.

Canderous turned his gaze to Bastila, as if just noticing her. "First off, Gorgeous, there wasn't a 'we', I didn't think Avery's mother would tag along," he remarked, sneering.

Seth expected Bastila to let Canderous have it. But she didn't show any outward reaction, like Jedi were supposed to, he guessed. In fact, her voice was quite even as she responded, "I am not his mother."

Dismissing Bastila and turning back to Seth, Canderous continued, keeping his voice low, "Look, I know you've been poking around, searching for a way off planet. A lot of people are. But the difference here is; I know how to get off. If you want any chance of hauling jets off this rock, you'll need to do something for me first."

"Like what?" Seth and Bastila asked in unison.

"It's a job a picked you specifically for. No ship gets off Taris without the Sith departure codes, and they're locked away in the Sith base. I figured if you're crazy enough to race the way you did, and you can fight as well as you did in the brawl afterwards, you are the perfect material to break into the Sith military base."

"What?!" Seth nearly shouted.

"You heard me."

Holding up his hands, Seth shook his head vigorously. "No way, the Sith will outnumber us twenty to one!"

"We? This is your end of the bargain, there won't be any 'we' involved. You get the codes, and I get you a ship. That's how this will work."

"How will you get a ship for us?" Bastila wanted to know.

"Nah ah," Canderous stonewalled her, "Not yet. You get those codes first, then you get the rest of the details."

"But how are we going to get in?" Seth brought up, "Mission Vao is the best slicer I know, and even she couldn't get past the Sith firewalls."

"That girl may be the best organic slicer, but I have an alternative; Davik is having a droid made specifically for getting into that base. All you need is to get your little backside over to Janice Nall's

droid shop, tell her Canderous sent you for T3-M4, and she'll sell you the droid."

"How much is it?"

"Only about two thousand credits."

"Two Bantha-spacing thousand?!" Seth shouted, causing several bar patrons to look their way.

"Shut up, di'kut!" Canderous hissed, glaring hotly at Seth, "Sith hang out here, you know! I'll give you the money, but you had better come back with that droid, or I'll blast you right off this planet."

"I -uh," Seth stuttered.

"It's a deal," Bastila decided for him.

"Glad to hear it," Canderous said, friendly again, "When you have the codes, meet me in Javyar's Cantina in the Lower City. I'll be waiting."


	9. Of Catfights and Intrusions

**A/N: This is to satisfy all those people who were whining about me putting up the next chapter. You all just need to realize that my beat reader takes a LONG TIME to beta my stories, but he makes them all worth reading. (Well, I shouldn't say them ALL, because this is the only story he is a beta reader for, but you get my drift) and you all need to be patient, okay? So here you go, because of all your complaining, you're getting the un-beta'd version. Enjoy. I'll post the beta'd version as soon as I get it back.**

**-DarthBubbles**

"Hey," Seth said, a bit awkwardly, to the silver Astromech droid rolling along beside him and the others.

T3-M4 tilted his cylindral 'head' up towards Seth and beeped cheerfully.

Seth grinned. "No problem."

"What'd he say?" Mission asked, unable to understand droidspeak.

"He thanked us for buying him." Seth said with a shrug.

T3 bleeped again, a much longer series of mechanical sounds. Seth's gaze flickered to Mission for half a second before he nodded. "She is. But it doesn't mean anything like _that_, I don't think."

Mission arched an eyebrow at Seth as T3 emitted a mechanical snicker. "What'd he say that time?"

Seth bushed deeply, and muttered, "Wanted to know about my shoes." It was a terrible lie, and he knew it. It was just so frustrating that he screwed up in front of Mission so much.

Mission made an I-Don't-Believe-You face, but dropped the subject as the Sith base came into view. "Whoa…" she said quietly. "I can't believe we're about to break in there."

"Neither can I," he said with a nervous chuckle. "I'm supposed to be the good guy, and breaking the law is not what good guys do."

"It's a Sith base," Mission said deprecatingly. "They're the bad guys, and you're just breaking into their territory, nothing unlawful."

"It's still a government building," Seth shot back.

"Would you follow the law on Korriban?" Mission asked. "Led by all those Sith, being forced to serve their every whim?"

"Well… No. I guess not. But this is different!"

"How?"

"Well… They, um… The Sith are just ruling because of the quarantine, they haven't always been the law here."

"We're not talking history, we're talking present," Mission said. "Do the Sith currently control Korriban? Yes. Do the Sith currently control Taris? Yes."

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," Seth said, annoyed. "Doesn't make me feel any better though."

"How about the fact that a Jedi's going to be breaking in, too. Along with a decorated Republic war hero."

"Yeah, I suppose if Bastila's doing it… and Captain Onasi, too, it's okay."

"Don't forget your favorite Twi'lek street urchin and gangly city Wookiee, as well!"

"Yeah, but you aren't bound to any code of conduct or anything. You live by your own set of rules, Mish. Zaalbar too. Carth and I have the Republic to answer to and Bastila's got whatever Jedi stuff that keeps her in line."

"In line? Does in line involve making underlings their personal slave and turning him into someone different, isolating him from the only people who actually care for him?"

"What?" Seth asked, completely caught off guard.

"Nothing…" Mission mumbled. "Do your stuff, T3"

Seth looked at his friend, concerned. _'Personal slave?'_ he thought to himself, bewildered. _'What does that mean? I'm not Bastila's slave, she's just my commanding officer. But then, so is Carth, and he was never so demanding, and at least showed some level of respect. But even if she doesn't give me any value, it's my duty to respect her, she deserves no less. And… the people who care for me… who are _they_?? Who have I become isolated from since Bastila joined us?'_ The answer to the question was in his head before he even completed the thought.

Mission cared for him? He knew he cared for her to some degree, but he never expected her to return the feelings. Seth knew he was just soft at heart, while Mission was tough, because of living through her experiences. She'd told him all about Griff, and how he'd run off with a cantina rat named Lena. In order to keep those emotions from gripping her, she'd learned to harden her heart against them. Seth, who'd grown up in the streets of Nar Shaddaa with Jaq, hadn't had much to really get to him besides living to see another day. That was when he was five, and he hardly remembered it. The rest of his life was spent in Upper Coruscant, where it was all relatively safe and enjoyable. Until drill camps, he'd never known anything but positive emotions.

But why would Mission step out of her comfort zone and face emotions that she felt toward Seth? Were they really all that great of a feeling to her? She couldn't have developed any significant feelings for him after knowing him for so little time, could she? Nothing big, just friendship.

And what was with her quip about Bastila? What was it about the Jedi that made Mission so brusque whenever the subject came to her? Seth supposed he did talk about Bastila a lot, and went nearly everywhere with her, but it was because the situation demanded it. Sure, she looked as if she belonged on the cover of some holozine, but he wasn't developing a crush on her or anything. At least, he didn't think so. After all, he thought Mission, once cleaned up and dressed nicely, would make a great holozine cover as well, and she had a better attitude, and was just so fun to be around. And Seth didn't think he was crushing on her either.

Seth hadn't known very many women, and the two he was with were just so amazing and talented in their own opposite ways. But he was on a mission to save the galaxy, at least indirectly, by getting the Republic's greatest asset off Taris. He didn't have time to spend on this. He didn't even know if his theories about his Twi'lek companion were true! Who was he to draw conclusions?

T3 bleeped loudly, shaking Seth from his thoughts. "Hurry, Private Avery," Bastila hissed. "Get inside the turbolift before we're spotted!"

"Give him a chance, woman, sheesh!" Mission said. "T3 only just opened the doors!"

Seth awkwardly stepped into the lift between the two women, both of which were glaring at one another. Carth gave him a sympathizing look, which Seth returned with a gauche smile. T3 rolled back and forth on his wheels, and beeped nervously. Seth grinned at the droid. "No, you did great, little buddy. Thanks." It was at that moment that he once again saw his reflection in the top of the astromech's head. "Hey, T3, could you keep your head still for a minute?" He then took out a comb from his pocket and began to touch up his hair. In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of Mission rolling her soft brown eyes.

He couldn't imagine, what with her positive and chirpy attitude, what could have made Mission despise anyone, even the female Jedi.

* * *

"Stop right there or I set off the alarm!!" a Twi'lek secretary said forcefully.

With a quick movement, Carth had raised his blaster and shot at the control panel she stood in front of. "No you won't," he said.

The Twi'lek's eyes widened visibly. "P- Please…" she begged. "Don't hurt me. I'm not with the Sith, I hate them!"

Carth lowered his blasters slightly. "Then why are you here?"

"I- I worked here before the Sith came! Now they won't let me leave! Please don't hurt me… Just let me go, I'll turn my back on them!"

The Captain looked down at the Twi'lek. "Get out of here, but don't try anything on your way out." The secretary complied, practically stumbling over her own feet in her rush to get to the turbolift.

"Okay, T3, check that computer system and download a map of the area," Seth said, clapping his hands together loudly in a way that made both Bastila and Carth jump involuntarily.

T3 rolled forward to carry out his task, but before he got within a meter of the computer, Carth stopped him. "Sorry, everyone. I… um… just blasted the access panel." T3 gave a confident beep and continued towards the system, plugging in.

"He said he can temporarily reroute the power to his internal systems and view the info via datapad." Seth grinned at T3. "You're awesome." T3 bleeped out a happy response, then continued with some instructions. Seth looked up. "Somebody's gotta do the actual hacking, though. Mission, do your thing."

Mission smiled and moved toward T3, hooking up her datapad and typing in binary codes. Bastila fixed Seth with an annoyed glare. "I do believe _I_ am in charge, Private. I should be the one to decide the course of action."

"Lay off, schutta," Mission growled as she worked.

Bastila looked astonished. "Why… how _dare _you call me that? _I_ am commanding officer of this mission!"

"I _am_ Mission. So there. And, in case you don't remember, I don't take orders from you. I take 'em from me!"

"Why, you little- Wait, I must not give in. There is no emotion, there is peace."

Mission rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. I can see that. By the way, I love how you threw in the word 'little' there. Perfectly describes me, except I'm _not_ a _kid_. And I'm as tall as you are."

"Uh, Mish?" Seth said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Could you, um… just stick to the work?"

"Right… Almost… Got it!" She unhooked her datapad and held it out, prompting Bastila to reach for it before she passed it to Carth. T3 unplugged and rolled on towards the group, who crowded around Carth to see the screen of Mission's relatively small 'pad.

"So, where would the codes be?" Seth asked.

"They are quite valuable, so they should be in an area under heavy guard," Bastila said.

"Which could be… pretty much anywhere," Mission reasoned.

"We have to start somewhere," Carth said. "Our best bet is the command center, which should be," he paused consulting the map, then resumed, "up the hall and to the left."

Seth nodded in understanding, then opened a door into a short hallway. The group moved forward at a quick pace until they came upon the adjacent door. "Alright, door's locked," Seth muttered. "Go ahead, T3."

T3 began working on the door immediately. Carth shook his head. "Wait! If the door's locked it's probably got some-" The door slid open, cutting the captain off in the middle of his sentence, to reveal relatively new models of Sith war droids.

"Blast 'em, T3!" Seth ordered frantically while unsheathing Striker. Carth wasted no time in whipping out his blasters, and together with Mission, took down the first one. Bastila had taken a huge leap into the middle of the droids, the blades of her lightsaber cleaving through them easily.

The battle was over with quickly, as the Jedi Commander had taken out over half the droids standing. Seth stared at her with admiration. "Nice job, ma'am."

Carth thought he could hear Mission mimicking him under her breath, but when he turned to look at her, she was messing with her blaster. The voice of a Duro made his head snap up, and he raised his blasters instinctively.

"Hey, I remember you!" Seth exclaimed. "You're that Duro from the apartment complex!"

"[Ah, so you recognize me!]" the Duro said. "[Regrettably, human, I am in need of your help once again. I have been imprisoned by the Sith for removing the corpses of those soldiers you saved me from. If you could let me out…]"

"Sure thing," Seth said.

"[Do be careful. One error could activate my cell's execution systems.]"

"Um… Mish? T3? Wanna have a go at it?"

"[The controls are on that wall.]"

Mission turned toward the consoles and grinned. "Oh, these ain't so hard, they have a security system almost just like this at the Bek Base. It isn't state of the art like this one, but the base programs are identical."

"So you can do it?" Bastila asked.

"'Course." Mission began to work the switches, and before long, the force field around the cages deactivated.

"[Thank you,]" the Duro said, nodding at the Twi'lek. "[If I had anything to give, I would.]"

"Nah, you don't have to give me anything," Mission said. "I don't need it anyway."

A faint smile seemed to touch the Duro's mouth. "[Again, thank you. I don't know why you are here, but I hope you find what you're looking for.]" He ran out the door toward the turbolift.

"Alright, we've done our daily random act of kindness," Mission said. "Let's go."

"I'm surprised, Mission, your response was very Jedi-like," Bastila remarked.

"That's wonderful," Mission said. "Let's just go."

Seth smiled at his friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "Good job."

The corners of her mouth quirked into a grin. "It was nothing."

"No, you saved a dude's life." He nodded slightly, then pulled away to move towards the door. They continued towards their objective. Eventually they came to the entrance to the command center. Seth glanced at his companions before touching the controls for the blast door. It opened immediately, and in front of them stood at least twenty five Sith. "Where's Zaalbar when you need him?" he muttered, pulling out both his sword and pistol.

As the first round of blasterfire came, everyone rolled in different directions. Carth's fingers tightened around the triggers of his blasters, and the first two troops went down. He turned halfway to see Seth and Mission cutting down a group side by side, and Bastila cleaving through the heavy troops just ahead. They didn't seem to need any help. Firing again, he sent more Sith down, blood seeping from the joints in their armor.

The mechanical scream of an Astromech caused nearly everyone involved in the battle pause for a split second. Sparks flying from his chassis, T3-M4 rolled backward uncontrollably into a wall and toppled over.

"T3!" Seth exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. Carth shook his head at the boy's reaction while gunning down more enemies. Getting attached to a droid was a waste, he had decided long ago. The attention spent, the refusal to give it a memory wipe, and the constant dependency on a machine could end a life if it got out of hand.

As Bastila's lightsaber cut a trooper cleanly in half, a sudden silence fell upon the room. The last Sith, a Captain, by the looks of her uniform, threw down her pistol and raised her hands above her head in surrender.

Carth inched closer to her, then kicked the blaster out of reach with the toe of his boot. Seth was behind him, hydrospanner already in hand, fixing up T3. Mission had joined him to watch. Bastila deactivated her lightsaber and fixed the Captain with a stare. "Give us the codes, and you will not be harmed."

Carth's eyebrows raised slightly. "You show the whole base you're a Jedi, and you're willing to let her go tell Malak about it?"

Bastila's lips curved into what seemed to be a smile. With a wave of her hand, a gesture that almost went unnoticed, she said, "She will not tell Malak what she has seen."

"I… I won't tell Lord Malak about any of this," the Captain stuttered. Carth's jaw dropped as he stared at the Jedi.

"You will give us the departure codes for the blockade."

"But… I don't have them! The governor does."

"Where is the governor?" Carth asked.

She pulled out her datapad and showed them a map identical to the one Mission and T3 had downloaded. "There's a turbolift here that will take you to his private quarters," she explained, tapping on a location of the chart. "The codes should be in there."

Bastila turned, with Carth on her heel, leaving the dazed captain leaning against a wall as if drunk. "Private Avery. Come."

"Did we get the codes?" he asked, looking up from his work on T3.

"No. But we know where they are. And you aren't just going to sit there and play mechanic while we retrieve them."

Mission shook her head. "You know, you're just lucky Seth knows so much about machines or you'd still be a Vulkar prisoner!"

"Is I recall, I escaped myself, actually."

"Because Seth caused so much of a distraction!"

"Which nearly got us all killed! This is why I am now in charge, Miss Vao, and I hope you do come to realize that soon enough."

"And I hope you come to realize that you're a stuck up hag someday, too."

Bastila fumed, screaming a number of choice words at the unfazed teenager while Carth and Seth watched, astonished. The two men exchanged a look that said, _"So much for the famous Jedi self control."_

As the argument continued further, Seth went back to work on T3, who soon enough powered back up. The boy grinned. "How you feeling, little guy?"

"Vreet- deet deet."

"Good to hear. Think you can get back into some more action?"

"Dwooo."

Seth patted him on his "head" reassuringly and stood. "Alright, let's get those codes!"

Mission and Bastila looked up at him embarrassedly. "Of course, Private. Take up the flank," Bastila said. At the same time Mission gave the Jedi a rude gesture behind her back, then trotted over to Seth.

Carth shook his head. If he didn't get off Taris soon, these women would be the death of him.

* * *

Seth bent down, his fingers lightly treading over the internal wires of the mine, talking to himself. "Blue wire crosses over the red. Green stays. Cut the yellow… flip…"

"Could you hurry this up, Private?" Bastila asked in and annoyed tone.

Seth felt like saying, "If you want to get killed, go right ahead, woman." But he didn't. He was a soldier, and instead he replied. "Trying, Ma'am."

He had to admit that he now knew where Mission was coming from. Although Bastila was one of those women whom would most likely be on a poster in his room if he had one, she was really getting on his nerves. Did it make her any less hot? No. Did it make her any less of a commander? No. His feelings would have to stay bottled up if he were to do any good.

A satisfying _click_ from the mine signaled that it had been deactivated. "Hey, T3, get this door open."

The droid whistled happily in compliance and rolled forward to work on the controls. It slid open to reveal a single man, unarmored, armed only with a double vibro blade. "_This'll be easy_!" Seth thought, grinning. Five against one. Nice odds.

"Who dares to disturb my meditation?" The bald man asked threateningly, turning around to face the trespassers. "Wait, you… I sense great power from you. Who'd have thought a Force adept could be found on this blasted planet?"

"I come from the Jedi. I am Bastila Shan, perhaps you have heard of me?"

"Hmm… the one Lord Malak wants so much. I have no doubt about your power. But you are not the one whom I was referring to."

"Excuse me?" Bastila asked, her confident stance dropping.

The governor pointed a long, pale finger at her much younger companion. "Him."

Seth felt as if an invisible fist had jus punched him in the gut. "Me? I'm not even a Jedi!"

Bastila was now massaging her temples in frustration. "No, no! He's tricking you, Seth."

"But you said it when we went to see Candy- Cando- that Mandalorian! You said I could possibly use the Force! And now he's saying it!"

"She doesn't want you to be trained," the governor said. "She wants the power of the Jedi to herself. But if you join the Sith, you'll get that power. You'll get the riches, the life you've dreamed of."

Seth brandished his sword. "No blasted way am I joining you!"

"Hmm. Shame. I will surely be awarded with my lightsaber once I kill you all."

"Not gonna happen," Seth muttered. Weapons were all out in an instant. Bastila leapt for him, only to fly backwards. She hit the wall and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Carth took a shot at the governor, who sidestepped it with alarming speed and put the captain in a Force stasis. A blast of Force lightning took out T3.

"Blast it!" Seth exclaimed, as he and Mission charged the governor. "Why does this always happen?"

"Because you're the hero who always gets put in these situations. Maybe they'll make a holo about you," Mission replied.

"That's not too comforting, but I hope you're right. Otherwise this will have been for nothing but a few cuts and bruises." The two teens' swords made an ear ringing _clang_ as they made contact with the governor's.

A knee came up and made contact with Seth's stomach, sending the boy to the ground. Mission struggled to keep up with the two blades against her as her companion attempted to stand. One, however, broke through her defenses and cut a deep gash in her sword arm. Mission cried out in pain, but switched to her off hand and continued fighting. She'd never trained with her left hand, though, and as a boot connected with her jaw, the sword dropped from her hands.

Seth saw red, and he screamed, blocking the blade that came down and intended to take the Twi'lek's life. "Stay away from her!" he yelled. Anger fueling his movements, Seth made a flurry of attacks, in which the governor's hand was sliced completely off and his sword dropped. "You've been disarmed. Surrender."

His enemy only shook his head. "I have a greater weapon than you could ever imagine!" he screamed, lifting his good hand- his only hand, actually- and sending Force lightning crackling toward Seth.

Everything switched into slow motion. Seth was aware of Mission screaming his name in terror. Whether she was scared of being left to fight the governor herself or if she was scared because she cared for him, Seth didn't have the time to realize the truth. He lifted up a hand to ward off the lightning in a seemingly feeble attempt. He closed his eyes and prepared for the torture of death by lightning. It never came.

Seth cracked one eye open to see a magnificent display of purple tinged electrical currents dancing before him. A tingling sensation in his palm caused him to look down, surprise and a sense of pride radiating through his body when he did. The lightning had come in contact with his hand and had _bounced back_ toward the governor, who was now shaking from the power he had created. The tie he had with the Force was severed, and the lightning stopped. Drained of energy, Seth dropped to his knees, panting. The dead, smoking body of the governor lay in front of him in a blackened heap.

"Seth!"

He turned toward the source of the voice just in time to be caught in a tight embrace by Mission. His arms slithered around her waist to hug back tightly, and to keep her there with him. "Mish," he breathed, closing his eyes in exhaustion.

"I thought you were gonna die!"

"So did I."

She pulled back as far as Seth's arms would allow her to go, which wasn't much. Their faces inches apart, she grinned. "That was amazing. I… just… wow."

He smiled. "I didn't know I could do that. It felt… really cool, actually."

Mission nodded, an unreadable look in his eye. She attempted to pull back just a little, but Seth's arms felt as if they were locked in place. Instead, before he could react, she quickly leaned forward and kissed his cheek, just barely brushing her lips against his skin. Utter surprise and a sense of delight washed over Seth and he dropped his arms, allowing her to pull back and search the room for the codes.

She didn't notice as Seth punched the air victoriously behind her back.

* * *

**Well, ain't that sweet? I just LOVE when Mission gets somebody to love (*can anybody find meeeee.... SOMEBODY TO LOVE!* Okay, wow, now I'm singing. :D) Speaking of Mission romances, you should check out rcmgamer218's post-KotOR story Journey to Knighthood. It's got action, suspense, all that stuff that I know you love, along with a... MISSION ROMANCE!! :D But with who, you ask? Well, geez, man! Read the story!**

**The next chapter's up and sent to my beta reader as well, so be expecting that... in a month? :)**


	10. Sith Making Things Go Boom

"Nice job, kid. I knew you were the capable sort," Canderous said, as soon as Seth had walked within earshot.

"Um, thanks?" Seth tried. The intimidation that the Mandalorian had posed was beginning to wear off. Now it was just the huge heavy repeater he held that got him. "Now how do we get outta here?"

Canderous' grey eyes made a quick surveillance of the area. "The _Ebon Hawk_. That's the ship we're going to use."

The name held no meaning to Seth other than the fact that it sounded really cool. But apparently, Mission and Zaalbar knew what it was. "[Are you _insane_?]" Big Z nearly roared.

"The _Ebon Hawk_?" Mission squeaked. "You can't be serious!"

Seth frowned. "And just what is it about this _Ebon Hawk_ that makes it so special?"

"Well, it's just about the fastest ship in the galaxy, most high tech, and best arsenal you can get," Canderous said.

"Sounds good," Seth said, eyeing Mission and Zaalbar strangely.

"And it's _Davik's_ ship," Mission put in.

"Sounds bad. We're seriously going to break into Davik's estate and _steal his ship_?"

"You just broke into a high grade Sith military installation and you're afraid of residential burglary?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid of residential burglary if the resident is a, oh I don't know, a _crime lord_!"

"You Republics worry too much. This is your only chance. Think about it, you, at the age of thirteen-"

"Sixteen."

"Whatever. At your young age, you'll be the captain of the best ship in the galaxy. What do you think about that?"

Seth allowed the thoughts to seep into his mind. "I… I would like that."

"Women will be all over you, with that ship's glory."

Mission rolled her eyes. "He's preying on your wacky teenage hormones."

Seth glanced at her. "Well, whatever he's doing, it's working. I want that ship."

Canderous nodded. "She's all yours. We just need to get it."

"What's your plan?"

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"Man, does this guy like purple!" Seth muttered as he, Mission, and Canderous followed Davik Kang and Calo Nord through the halls of the crime lord's estate.

Mission smiled. "Very manly."

"Cut the chatter, kids!" Canderous hissed from in front of them.

Davik chuckled. "It's fine, Canderous. They're teenagers, they have short attention spans."

The Mandalorian turned a hateful glare on Mission and Seth, which was returned by the both of them with cheeky grins.

Davik smiled. "It is good that you are so interested in the Exchange at such a young age, you should grow very powerful. What made you decide you wanted to join us, young Fure?"

"Um, well, me and my… associate, here," he gestured toward Mission, "are looking forward to gaining profits and such, and of course, dealing starships and stuff, cause, I'm a swoop racer and stuff… and she's my pit crew… and, uh, yeah."

"I see. Well, you're going to have to start off small. I did, after all, and then I got this, eventually."

"Uh-huh," Seth mumbled, still looking at Mission. She'd kissed him, sure, but their

relationship still seemed the same as it had been before- they were just friends. In fact, for all he knew, she'd kissed him just to get out of his grip and search for the codes. And the strange thing was, he felt disappointed that it could just be for that reason. And he didn't know why.

"I know something that will catch your attention," Davik said. He pulled out an access card and slid it through a scanner in front of the door, then entered a lengthy code. The doors slid open, and Seth felt as if he were stepping directly into heaven. There before him sat the most beautiful ship he'd ever seen. The sublight engines seemed to be of the newest make, modified. Dual heavy quad laser cannons sat upon each wingtip, with a dual turbolaser turret sitting upon the dorsal. Light glinted off what seemed like a fresh coat of bronze finish painted on the top half of the ship's outer durasteel armor. The _Ebon Hawk_ was magnificent.

He couldn't believe that this was soon to be his ship. He nearly felt like singing, but he was with a crime lord, a famed bounty hunter, and a Mandalorian.

"Uh, Seth?" Mission asked worriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking him again. "I mean, Mike? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… It's just… That's the _Ebon Hawk_!"

Davik nodded. "My pride and joy. Notice the security system I've had installed to protect her."

Seth's moment of bliss ended, and his eyes widened as he stared at Davik. "Security system?"

"Yep, the shields are completely impregnable. Nobody can get through without the codes needed to steal my baby."

"Impregnable!"

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"Oh crap," Seth grumbled as he paced back and forth in their quarters. "No, beyond 'Oh crap!' This is bad!"

"Calm down, kid!" Canderous ordered. "You're giving me a headache."

"Yeah, Seth, this is just a bump in the road. We'll find a way around it. We always do," Mission reasoned.

"_Always?_ Yeah, well, we've never faced impregnable shields before!"

"We faced a rancor. That's close enough."

"Well shields aren't hungry for mine stuffed gammoreans."

"They also don't have huge razor sharp teeth. I guess it's even."

Canderous stood, towering above the two. "I don't know how we started on rancors, but this conversation is _over_." He enunciated the word 'over' threateningly. "Now, we find Hudrow and convince him to give us the codes. And I think I know where he is."

"Who's Hudrow?" Mission asked.

"Davik's pilot. He'd have those codes memorized forward and backward, I'll bet."

"But, um, Davik said he'd kill us if we left our room," Seth pointed out.

"This is the kid who broke into both the Sith and Black Vulkar bases within the same month."

"Good point. Where's Hudrow?"

"Well, from what I know, Hudrow was caught stealing spice last week, so he should be in Davik's torture room."

"He has a torture room!" Seth asked, voice cracking. "The Sith didn't have a torture room!"

"Right, they had brand new prototype war droids and a freaky bald guy who can use the Force," Mission deadpanned. "Quit being such a wimp! Don't worry, I'll hold your hand."

Seth shook his head rapidly. "I am _not_ a- wait, you'll hold my hand?"

"In your dreams, soldier boy," she said with a laugh. She put on a very convincing voice, but her cheeks darkened considerably.

"Okay, it's settled. The two of you will sneak through the base to the torture room, I'm going to get the hangar doors open. We'll rendezvous at the hangar."

"Your plan doesn't sound too thorough," Seth observed.

The Mandalorian fixed him with a glare. "This isn't the military, boy."

"No, no, I'm not complaining," he clarified. "I like it. I get to use my imagination."

A smile touched Canderous' scarred face. "That's the idea, kid. Now get moving. Hudrow ain't getting any younger."

Seth glanced at Mission, who nodded, and led the way out the doors. As soon as they were out of earshot, he turned on her. "I haven't gotten you alone since we were in the Sith base," he said.

"Um, Seth?" she asked, shifting from one foot to another nervously. "What're you talking about?"

"What's up with that kiss you gave me?"

"Well, as I recall, you wouldn't let me out of that hug of yours, and, quite frankly, your arms are very muscular. So, instead of fighting you, I surprised you to make you let me go."

"So this has nothing to do with me personally."

She hesitated ever so slightly. "What? No! Of course not!"

Seth took a step toward her, backing her against a wall. "You sure?"

"Y-Yeah. You're a little close."

Putting a hand against the wall on either side of her, he leaned in until their faces were merely an inch apart. "Am I?" he whispered. He could see conflict in her brown eyes, all he needed was the truth. _"Oh, kriff, I am good!" _he thought to himself with an inward smile. Carefully, slowly, he came even nearer to her, until their lips would touch as soon as she made a movement.

"Yes," she said firmly, placing her palms against his chest and lightly pushing him away. "Canderous is waiting." With that, she walked off, leaving Seth trailing behind.

"Man I'm such an _idiot_!" Seth said to himself angrily after giving himself a good, hard, mental kick.

"Yeah, you are," Mission called from in front of him.

"Shoot me now," he mumbled. She heard that as well.

"Don't tempt me."

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Mission had to admit, she was pretty darn proud of herself for keeping her cool back there with Seth. It took all of her will not to just give in to him right there, but luckily, she actually _had _been listening to Carth recently.

"Play it slow," he had said. "He's a teenage guy, you need to make sure his commitment's in check. Make him chase you down."

It reminded her of something someone had said to her a little over a year before. Zayne Carrick was charming in every sense of the word, nearly as attractive and caring as Seth. He wasn't close to being as funny, though. He was a Jedi on the run, and he'd been branded a traitor, which most likely hampered his sense of humor. Mission and Griff had kept him safe for some time, but eventually he had to leave. Just before they parted ways, Zayne had told her, "Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will come after you." She didn't know what he meant then, but she thought she understood it now. If Seth really did feel the way she thought he did, he would come after her. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to wait long for a result.

"Um, can I talk for a sec?" Seth asked embarrassedly.

"Just make sure you don't trip over your tongue this time," she replied with a smirk.

"Uh, okay. Do you know where you're going?"

"Course not."

"So… Are we just gonna keep wandering around and hope Davik doesn't see us?"

"Unless you have a better idea, that's the plan."

"Well, I think so. If you're willing to hack into a computer."

"_If_ I'm willing to hack into a computer? Seth, I thought you knew me better than that. Let's go." She turned sharply and activated the controls to a door to their right. Instantly, the two teenagers had their pistols out and had gunned down the surprised guards before they had a chance to react. Mission stepped over a corpse and took her place in front of the console, typing in commands quickly. "Cover me," she said after a few seconds.

"Already am," Seth replied. He glanced back at her with a smirk and put on his best mocking voice. "I thought you knew me better than that."

Mission just shook her head and smiled. She continued her search through the computer's memory systems. After a few minutes, she had pulled up a map, connected her datapad, and downloaded it. Together, they studied it, and Seth frowned.

"Well that's funny," he muttered.

"What?" she glanced at him with the slightest rise of an eyebrow.

"You spent all this time hacking into that computer only to find out that the torture room was right next door."

She gave him an exasperated look for all of two seconds before the both of them burst out with laughter.

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"I saw Hudrow running around with quite a few guards on his tail quite some time ago," Canderous said as soon as Mission and Seth were within earshot. "What took you two so long?"

"Well, first we couldn't find him, and then we had to destroy all those torture droids, and then we had to sneak around to avoid detection from the guards," Seth explained.

"And the codes?"

"Got 'em."

'How'd you convince him?" Canderous asked.

"Well, we sort of did save his life," said Mission. "He was actually the one that offered it."

"Huh, never thought he'd cave so easily. The guy's a whelp, but still-" Canderous was cut off by the sound of an explosion. A tremor shook the ground below them, sending Seth to the ground while Mission and the Mandalorian grabbed onto a nearby console to keep their balance.

"What was that?" Seth asked as he pushed himself up off the ground. He began to brush himself off when the second blast hit. This time, all three of them gripped the console.

"I guess the Sith got tired of waiting around for Bastila," Mission said. "And now that he knows the codes have been stolen, I doubt Malak will take the chance of letting her escape the planet."

"But I thought he wanted—" The rest of Seth's words were drowned out by another set of explosions.

"We'll have to carry on this conversation later!" Canderous shouted above the noise of the bombs, which were starting to rain down more frequently. "We need to get to the _Ebon Hawk _and get her out of here now if we want to rescue your friends."

Seth knew an order when he heard one. "Yes, Sir!"

Canderous activated the hangar doors, and they slid open to reveal Davik and Calo sprinting for the ship from another door as well. As soon as the two parties caught sight of one another, they stopped. Weapons were out in an instant, and Seth's heartbeat sped up in terror when he saw that one of Nord's guns was aimed directly at him. "This is my fight," Canderous said. "Kid, get to the ship, start the engines up. Both of ya!"

Seth grabbed Missions hand and sprinted with her to the ship, zigzagging in erratic patterns in order to keep Nord or Davik from locking onto them. Davik was taken down quickly, his face torn apart by Canderous's heavy repeater. Seth kept running, but he stopped dead in his tracks, however, frozen with fear, when Calo lifted a small sphere above his head threateningly. He'd seen them far too often in final training back on Coruscant, and even a few times at boot camp on Deralia. What he was now looking at was no doubt the most powerful, deadly grenade ever fashioned.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nord growled. "If I'm going down, you all are going with me. Shoot me and this thermal detonator will blow us all to bits."

Seth gulped, stepping slightly in front of Mission unconsciously. She squeezed the hand he was holding onto lightly, letting him know that in his fear he was crushing her fingers with his death grip. For a long time, nobody stirred, they just waited for someone else to make the first move. After some time, during which the Sith continued with their bombardment of the planet, Nord lifted his blaster and pointed it at Canderous's chest. At the same time, the Mandalorian lifted his heavy repeater and aimed it at Calo. Before either could pull the trigger, however, a Sith bomb directly hit the estate, destroying half the hangar and sending rafters down on top of Nord. A scream was all Seth could hear from the man as he disappeared from sight, the heavy metal crushing him. A tug on his hand brought him back to the hangar and the bombardment. Faintly, he could hear thousands of Tarisians screaming as one as their homes, their families, their lives were destroyed. Mission screamed Seth's name, halfway dragging him up the ramp before he awoke from his trance. He sprinted toward the front of the ship and found the cockpit, taking a seat in the pilot's chair.

"Get us out of here, kid!" Canderous yelled from behind him. "Keep the ramp extended, we need to get your friends out, and now!"

"All systems are go," Mission told him in a voice that he could tell she was fighting to keep even.

"Activate repulsors, bring thrusters to max power," Seth said without looking at her. His hands flew across the control board. As soon as Mission did what he'd told her to do, he pulled up on the steering yoke and brought the ship out of the hangar.

He swerved left and right as he piloted, expertly avoiding the fire of the Sith and hoping that he could get to the others in time. As the apartment building came in sight, his heart sank. The building was already almost completely burned down. However, Mission pointed out the front viewport and he saw them, waving at the _Hawk_ madly while standing in front of the escape pod that had brought Carth and Seth to the planet. The very escape pod that changed Seth's life.

He brought the ship down, hovering around a meter above them. Mission extended the loading ramp as far as it would go. Bastila leapt up easily, then helped Carth and Zaalbar, as well as T3, up with the Force. As soon as they were all in, Seth fired the engines again, and they were out of the atmosphere, with no one daring to look back at the burning city behind them.

As soon as Carth made it up to the cockpit, Seth slid out of the pilot's seat, the captain wordlessly taking his place. Bastila held her breath. "Now we find out if those codes were worth the trouble."

"They'd better be, princess, or this'll be a trip cut short!" Canderous growled.

"No, they're working," Carth said. "But there are a few fighters on our tail, I'll see if I can shake them."

As if on cue, the _Ebon Hawk _was peppered with blaster fire. "Is this what you call 'shaking them,' Republic?" Canderous sneered.

"If you have a problem with my flying, you can take a jump out the airlock!" Carth snapped at the Mandalorian. "Seth! Get in those gun turrets, take them down!"

"Yes, Sir!" Seth yelled, once again a private. He turned and ran for the turrets.

"I'm _not _having a kid watching _my_ six," Canderous muttered.

Carth glared at him. "Seth's better than you give him credit for."

"Whatever, I'm taking the other turret."

As Seth jogged toward the turrets, he passed Mission, who was being held in a strong hug by Zaalbar. He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it in comfort, and said "I'll talk to you later… if you want." Then he gave the Wookiee a pat on the back and continued for the guns.

Almost as soon as he took his seat in the turret, he saw Canderous climbing into the gun below him. "Alright kid," the Mandalorian said through the headset. "I don't know how well you handle one of these things, but you'd better not get us killed."

Seth just smiled and shook his head, locking onto and destroying the first fighter as an answer. "Don't worry," he said hotly. "I won't."

"Now you're getting cocky," Canderous said. "That'll make you lose your shot. Just focus on shooting." As he spoke, he took out two fighters with one shot. "By the way, I'm winning by one."

Seth laughed aloud, spinning his turret while holding down the triggers, destroying five. "You were saying?"

"Now you know you couldn't have done that with allies around, that would be risking friendly fire." Canderous took out three. "And if you were a Mando, the sentence for friendly fire is death."

"Two things, though," Seth said, narrowly missing one fighter only for Canderous to destroy it. "Hey! That guy was mine! Anyways, there _aren't _any allies around and I'm_ not_ a Mando, so your point is moot."

"Kid, you're going to drive me crazy," Canderous snarled. He attacked the last two fighters and destroyed them. "We're all clear, Republic, make the jump!" He said through the headset to Carth. Almost instantly, the stars streaked past and they were in hyperspace. "By the way, kid," he said to Seth, "I beat you eight to six. Better start practicing."

Mission stared at the blueness of hyperspace out the cargo hold viewport. She could hear Seth's boots lightly treading across the durasteel flooring of the _Ebon Hawk_, getting louder until he was standing next to her. "Hey," he said.

She scooted over, allowing him to take a seat beside her on the plasteel container she was sitting on. "Hey," she said.

"How, uh… How you holding up?"

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

He looked her straight in the eye. "Tell the truth."

She sighed and looked down. "Every time I think that there might be a chance for my life to just be fine, something happens. When Griff and I were finally starting to work life out, he got into gambling and all his get rich quick schemes. When he started to level out a bit, Lena dropped into the picture. When I was starting to get along with her on a tolerant basis, she stole him away. When… when…" she trailed off.

"When you started out good with Zaalbar, I came along and screwed it up." Seth finished for her.

He was wrong. So incredibly wrong. She shook her head, trying to swallow the lump in her throat without success. "No…"

He slid his hand forward, entwining his rough-skinned fingers with her soft, smooth ones. "Then why are you so reluctant to talk to me? I know you just lost your whole life, and I can't help but feel responsible for it."

"When I was going through stuff I just couldn't tell Zaalbar, you came along. And you understand me. But now with all that's going on, and how intent the Sith are on killing you, I can't help but think that…"

"What?" His clear blue eyes were looking at her intently, caringly.

"That I'll lose the last of what I love," she whispered before she burst into tears, unable to hold them back any longer.

He wrapped his arms around her, and for a long time she just _cried_. Burying her face into the crook of his neck, she felt the fear of losing him all over again, and at the same time feeling entirely safe in his strong arms. _"Well, there I go,"_ she thought. _"He knows, and now I have to live with this embarrassment."_

But yet again, he hadn't understood what she meant. "I promise I won't let you get hurt," he said. "You can count on it. You or Zaalbar."

_"It's not my life I care about, it's YOURS!"_ she wanted to scream. But she didn't. Because of fear of rejection, because of fear that if she told him, they would lose the friendship they had. She needed something deeper from him, but she couldn't risk what they already had. That would have to be enough.

But when they pulled out of the hug, she stared into his face and shook her head. "This isn't your fault. I haven't been much of a help to you. I've just been pushing Bastila's buttons and…I'm just… I'm such a liability! You don't even know."

"No, you're not, Mish."

"Yes, I am. You have no idea—" She was cut off by Seth's sudden action of leaning in and pressing his lips against hers.

Surprise overcame her for less than a second before she placed her hand behind his neck, reveling in the moment. His lips were surprisingly soft, and seemed to fit the curve of her mouth perfectly. Mission closed her eyes, bliss taking over as she felt his arms tighten around her waist. The need to breathe caused them both to pull back, and she just stared at him, a strange smile appearing on her face.

"What?" he asked.

"That was… That was… whoa!"

"Get happy, okay?" And just like that, she was staring at his quickly retreating form, and he was gone.

It took all of Mission's strong will and then some not to squeal like a little girl in a candy shop.

"Oh Force," she whispered to herself, touching her smiling lips, feeling the gap his own lips had just filled. "He's amazing."


	11. Endless grass and a jerk called Vrook

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Really, I am. I just have NO TIME left anymore. State track meet, finals, summer planning, spending as much time with my friends as possible before school gets out... My schedule is SWAMPED. At any rate, I've been working on this in between stuff, and I hope you enjoy it. (: Thanks for sticking with me, everyone.  
-Bubbles.**

* * *

"What. The. Kriff?" Seth muttered under his breath as Dantooine came into view. "Ma'am, we need a safer place than some old grassland planet, shouldn't we go to Coruscant?"

"Coruscant is probably one of the most likely places Malak would expect us to go," Bastila said.

"That's 'cause it's safe," Seth whispered so that the Jedi couldn't hear.

"And," Bastila continued, "there is a Jedi Academy here where we can rest and recuperate. There are many Jedi here and the Force is strong on this planet. Malak would think twice before attacking this place."

"Not to mention Coruscant is very similar to Taris, which I think is a touchy subject for all of us," Carth added. "I can't imagine how Mission's taking it."

"She's... better," Seth answered with just a ghost of a smile. "But yeah, Coruscant might be a little too much. I kind of have… memories there, good, bad, ugly, you name it. And it'll be hard on Mission. But I think we should keep moving. Staying here is too risky, ma'am."

"I agree with Private Avery," Carth supplied.

Bastila cocked her hip to one side in that silent defiant movement that everyone had come to recognize. "We're staying on Dantooine. I need to inform the Jedi Council of our mission on Taris anyways."

"Um, Ma'am?" Seth asked politely. "Jedi Council's on Coruscant."

"The high council is, yes. But the Council of this particular branch of Jedi government is housed at the Academy."

"I see," Seth replied, although he really had no clue what she was talking about. _'Ah well.'_ he thought._ 'Jedi business ain't my business.' _He turned around and strode out the cockpit to tell Mission and Zaalbar about the upcoming landing.

They were playing pazaak across the table in the main hold, cards flying between the two furiously. He stood behind them silently, watching the match. It was close, which surprised him. He'd never been able to beat Mission at pazaak, but Zaalbar seemed to be getting close. For a moment, Seth zoned out, losing his focus on the game and only seeing the colors of the cards flashing across the table until the Wookiee roared in delight. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Seth saw that Zaalbar had actually beaten Mission.

What sounded like a laugh came from the Wookiee. "[Wow, Mission. That's the third time you weren't even paying attention. What's with you recently?]"

She glanced back at Seth briefly and showed the ghost of a smile. "Nothing, really. Just not at the top of my game."

Zaalbar looked from Mission to Seth and back again, then let out something akin to a Wookiee version of laughter. "[I wonder why.]" He stood up and walked away, leaving the teens alone.

"So... You feeling any better?" Seth asked as Mission stood to face him.

"Yeah," she said. "A friend really helped me out."

Seth hugged her for a brief moment. "I hope that I didn't make you uncomfortable... with the... you know."

Mission blushed and looked down at her feet. "Don't worry about it."

Seth frowned slightly. That wasn't much of a promising answer. Perhaps she wanted it to be a one time thing. At any rate, he wasn't going to press their relationship until she was ready. After all, her heart was much more fragile than she made it out to be. She'd been left by her brother for a cantina dancer on a world that until now had been her only home. Because of Seth, Carth, and Bastila, she lost one of the few things she could still claim to be hers. There was no way he was going to make it all worse by making her feel uncomfortable.

"Well, I was s'posed to come out and tell you and Z that we'll be touching down on Dantooine within the hour, but he sorta disappeared," Seth explained.

"Dantooine?" Mission repeated, eyebrow arching in mild confusion. "Why Dantooine? We just barely escaped from a war zone and we're going to a farmer's planet?"

"I don't really know either. Apparently there's some Jedi place there, and that's where Bastila wants us to go, so we're going."

"Oh," Mission said curtly.

"Why do you hate her?"

Mission sighed and pulled herself up onto the central table of the main hold, sitting down. "I wouldn't say hate, I just... don't like her."

"Okay, then. Why don't you like her?"

"She just gets on my nerves. The woman's a spoiled, prissy brat who's never gotten a taste of real life. So she looks down on everyone who has experienced life, just because they never had the sheltered upbringing the Jedi gave her. If she had to set foot in my life, or your life... she'd never last."

Seth looked down, slightly embarrassed. His best friend was downtalking his superiors, and he had no choice but to take it somewhat personally. If his commanders were disrespected, then he was in turn disrespected, whether Mission knew it or not. "She killed Darth Revan, I heard. That had to be hard."

"Yeah. She probably killed him with her annoying self-centered attitude," Mission said grumpily.

Seth just shook his head. "Look, Mish, lighten up. At least give her a chance."

The Twi'lek stood. "I will when she does," she said, and walked away.

"Come on, where are you going?"

"To tell Big Z when we're landing like _you_ were supposed to. You better go find Canderous."

He couldn't help but detect the slight tone of anger in her voice and wonder if he would ever understand women.

* * *

"Interesting," Master Vandar Tokare murmured, eyeing Seth curiously. "_Very_ interesting."

Seth shifted slightly from left to right, feeling nervous. He glanced up at Bastila for support, but found none. The halls of a Jedi Academy were no place for sympathy, it seemed, for a teenage boy, no matter how dutiful a soldier he was. He swallowed hard before speaking. "I'm sorry, sir. But... What exactly is so interesting?"

The tall lethan twilek, Master Zhar Lestin, answered. "You. Bastila has told us that the Force is strong in you. We're considering you for Jedi training."

Seth reeled. "_A Jedi?_" he thought. He could have sworn that his vision blurred as he was attacked by the dizzying concept. "_Me?_"

One of the other Masters, an older human with an obvious chip on his shoulder, shook his balding head. "Perhaps Master Zhar is jumping to conclusions," Vrook Lamar said bitterly. "We need indisputable proof of your affinity for the Force before even considering you for training."

The other three Masters, as well as Bastila, turned their heads to face Vrook. Four pairs of Jedi eyes stared at him in amazement. It was Bastila who spoke first. "Master, I have already relayed the events that occured on Taris in full detail. He is a human, and he not only survived the Taris Season Opener swoop race, but he _won_. He defeated a Force Adept trained in the dark side who even I could not stand against."

"We can clearly feel the power within the boy," Zhar added.

The Academy's historian, Master Dorak, also put in his two cents. "Also, Vrook, consider who the boy's parents were."

Seth's head snapped up, his attention fully on Dorak. "My parents?"

Vrook glared at Dorak. "Master Dorak! That's enough."

"No, I want to hear more!" Seth said, stepping forward and forgetting protocol for a moment.

"You will learn in time, young one. If you wish to ask more, we may speak later," Zhar said gently.

Vrook again shook his head. "Such knowledge can prove dangerous."

Vandar held up his hands for peace. "I think we should discuss this privately. Padawan Shan, Private Avery, please leave us to our deliberations. You should rest after the events on Taris. We will summon you in the morning."

Bastila bowed. "As you wish, Master." She turned to leave, but Seth still stood there, rooted in place by shock at the mention of his parents. The Padawan put a hand on his arm. "Seth, come with me." Still, Seth could not will his legs to move. Bastila grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and half dragged the boy out of the chambers, dumping him on the grassy ground of the courtyard. "Don't do anything foolish, Private. That's an order." With that, she marched away.

Seth just sat there, hand to his head to steady the dizzying sensation that came over him.

The Jedi knew who his parents were. And they were considering hiding the information from him.

He thought of what Vrook had said. _Such knowledge can prove dangerous._ What was the danger in telling a boy of the parents he never knew. "Are they alive?" Seth asked himself quietly. "Were they Jedi?" He thought some more, troubled by the words that came next out of his mouth. "Were they on the good side?"

Seth glanced up to see Mission walking toward him. "Hey," she said quietly, plopping down to sit cross legged next to him in the grass.

He attempted to smile, unsure if he succeeded or not. "How'd you know to come find me?"

"Well, Bastila marched up the loading ramp alone, all huffy and prissy as ever. She looked like she was annoyed, and I figured something happened. And you weren't there, so I got worried." She smiled slightly. "So what's wrong?"

Seth shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just tired. That's all."

She eyed him critically. "So you decided to lay down in the grass instead of walking the extra, what, four hundred meters back to the _Hawk_?" she said unbelievingly. "I'm not an idiot, Seth. Now how about the truth?"

"The Jedi know who my parents were," Seth said quietly. "And they didn't tell me anything."

Mission frowned. "Why not? That's dumb!"

"I don't really know. They just mentioned them, and then one of the Masters told me that the knowledge could be dangerous, and they just... sent me and Bastila out."

She stood, anger emanating. "Those sons of schuttas! C'mon, I'll convince 'em!"

Seth instantly grabbed her hand. "No! Bastila ordered me not to do anything like that!"

Mission tugged slightly, so he shifted his hands so that their fingers interlocked and he had a better grip. "_You're_ not the one who's going. I am."

"She's still going to get the same idea!" Seth hissed, yanking Mission down. The Twi'lek landed on top of him, pinning him down. She started to get back up, but he kept his grip on her hand firm, pulling her back down by reaching his other arm around her waist in order to keep her from escaping to the council chambers.

Mission blushed. "This is... uh..." She chuckled nervously. Their faces were merely inches apart, close enough for Seth to count the tiny freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose, normally unseen from the distance she was when they usually talked. Her breath tickled his skin, cool and minty- smelling. Seth just stared into her blue-green eyes.

"Please don't talk to the Council," he pleaded quietly.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Okay. But are you going to be alright?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

She leaned down to brush her lips against his briefly. "If you need anything," she breathed, "I'm here."

He just nodded, feeling a little better after the kiss. "Yeah. I know."

It was then that one of the Enclave's resident Jedi strolled by, stopping and staring down at the two teenagers, still lying one on top of the other. They both stood up in an instant, untangling their hands. Seth tried to smile apologetically. "Sorry, sir. We weren't doing anything. I swear. She just fell. You can go ahead and Jedi mind probe me if you want to make sure I'm telling the truth."

The Jedi just raised his eyebrows slightly before nodding slightly and continuing in the direction he'd originally been heading. Seth glanced at Mission. "Maybe we should get back to the _Hawk_," Mission suggested.

"Yeah," Seth agreed. "Maybe we should."

"It's late anyways," Mission said. "I'm not sure if we have a curfew, but it sounds like Carth wanted us back before midnight."

"Yeah, standard military procedure," Seth explained.

"Huh," Mission said thoughtfully. "I've never had a curfew."

"Not even with Griff?"

She shook her head. "Not even with Griff. You know, I was kinda hoping we'd come across him. That was one of the reasons I came with you. So I could find my brother again." She glanced over at Seth. "Not that that's the only reason. Of course I came for you, and... and so I could help you against Malak, and so the Sith fleet didn't bomb me into intergalactic space dust like everyone else on Taris."

Seth chuckled. "It's fine Mission. And for what it's worth, if we come across any clues as to where Griff is, or Lena... I'll help you find him."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He stopped for a moment, pulling her into a darkened corner of an unpatrolled hallway, and pressing his lips against hers. She melted into the kiss, lacing her fingers around his neck and pulling him in closer. They pulled apart to breathe, and in that moment, Seth pulled away. "Sorry, I... I don't know what's happening to me."

She laughed. "They're called horemones, babe." She took his hand. "Now let's go. We've got a curfew, you know."

He chuckled, jogging with her to the _Ebon Hawk _and up the loading ramp. He walked her to the port dormitory, which had been deemed the girls' cabin. There, he embraced her, kissing her forehead and wishing her a good night before retreating to the mens' dormitory on the starboard side of the ship, completely giddy. He fell down onto his bunk, ignoring Canderous, Carth, and Zaalbar, forgetting for a moment about the situation with his parents and the Jedi, and fell asleep quickly and happily.

Until the nightmares began.

* * *

_Seth instantly recognized the shadowy masked figure stalking darkly through the halls of an ominous building. Revan walked with his shoulders squared proudly, ignoring the remarks of the taller man behind him._

_Head meticulously shaven, Malak stood well over six inches above his master. His jaw, not the prosthetic one that had come to be feared all over the galaxy, but a real flesh and bone one, was set in quiet defiance. "We shouldn't be doing this," he insisted. Revan kept walking, head facing forward, as if his apprentice wasn't there. "The ancient Jedi sealed this gateway," Malak continued. Recieving no response from the masked man, he quickened his stride, quickly passing Revan to stand in front of him. Malak looked into the mask as if he could see directly into the eyes behind. "Once we pass, we can never go back. The council will expel us from the Order."_

_A feminine voice replied from behind the mask, causing Seth to jump in surprise. Revan was a woman? "We already stepped off the path when we decided to reject the code."_

_"Is the Star Forge truly worth the risk?" Malak asked doubtfully._

_Revan brushed gloved fingers across Malak's cheek. "Remember why we're doing this. We can't constantly have war. We don't want that for the next generation. This is the only way we can ensure peace for the galaxy."_

_Malak just nodded, stepping out of Revan's way. She waved her hand slightly, and the doors in front of her opened to reveal a strange, alien device activating, illuminating the room. _

_Seth then plunged into darkness._

* * *

Seth sat up, breathing heavily, covered with a thin layer of sweat. He glanced around the dormitory, and noticed Canderous and Zaalbar still asleep. Carth was nowhere to be seen.

The teen groaned, sliding his feet over the edge of the bunk and jumping slightly at the contact of the freezing metal floor with the bare skin of his feet. He rubbed his eyes and stood, popping a few joints in his back before shuffling into the main hold. He heard a faint flushing noise, and seconds later Mission exited the refresher across the room, the little makeup she wore in place and her standard black t-shirt, grey vest, and black combat pants modestly covering her body. She grinned at him.

"Hey, bed head," she said. Seth put a hand to his hair, shielding it from view. She laughed, crossing the hold to pull his hand back down gently. "Don't worry about it. Messy can be cute."

"You're in a good mood," he remarked, brushing his lips against her forehead.

"I had a good night last night," she said with a smile. "And a nice dream to go along with it."

"Tell me about it," Seth said, genuinely interested in anything that could keep his mind off of his night.

She smiled and shook her head. "No, you'll laugh."

He laced his fingers with hers. "I promise I won't."

Mission rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Okay, fine. It was basically you and me hanging out on a beach. And you kissed me... and told me stuff."

He chuckled slightly. "What did I tell you?"

"Nope!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You said you wouldn't laugh, and you just did."

"Well, alright, then," he said. "I guess I can only make part of this dream true." He put a hand on either side of her face and tilted her head up to make her lips meet his for a fleeting second. "Just be glad _you_ actually had a good dream last night."

She sighed, leaning into his chest. "Nightmares again?"

"Yeah. While you were off having cute girly mary-sue dreams of you and me, I was dreaming of Revan and Malak."

Her eyes widened. "Bastila was tossing and turning all night last night, too, and she mentioned both Revan and Malak quite a few times. She sleep talks a lot, it's sorta annoying. Anyways, she just ran off before I could talk to her about it. But it sure seemed to freak her out."

"Huh," Seth said thoughtfully. "That's wierd."

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" she asked. "I mean, I'm not sure if I'll be able to understand it, but if you need an ear, I'm always here."

"Thanks," he mumbled. "But I'm not sure if it will do anything. I'll bet the Jedi Council would _love_ to hear it, though."

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Do you really expect me to be able to hide it? They can mind probe, remember?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean they will."

"Of course they will! I mean, they're... well... I didn't really tell you, did I?"

She frowned at him. "What didn't you tell me?"

He sighed, running a hand through his still messy hair. "They... uh... They wanna make me a Jedi."

Mission backed up. "_What_?"

"You heard me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know... I mean, the whole thing about my parents sorta made me forget that, and I was having such a good time with you last night that I didn't want to bring it up?"

"Why not?" Mission asked.

"Because I don't even think I _want_ to be a Jedi."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because they'll ruin me."

"It can't be any worse than the military."

"Yeah it can. As a soldier you can get angry. You can fall in love. You're allowed leave. You can be human. The life of a Jedi takes all that stuff away."

"Oh," Mission said.

"Yeah," Seth agreed. "Oh."

At that moment, Carth entered the hold. "There you are!" he exclaimed, before taking a better look at Seth. "Force... First Bastila wakes up looking like she saw a ghost, and now you. Are you alright, Private?"

Seth shrugged. "I'm fine, Sir. Just had a rough night."

"Did you have the nightmare again?"

"Oh, it was a nightmare, all right, Sir. But it wasn't the same one. Did Bastila say anything about her night at all, by chance?"

"No, she didn't... but she didn't seem... well. Neither do you."

"Don't worry about me, Sir."

"You're currently under my command, soldier. I have every right to worry. But Bastila _did_ say that you should head down to the Council Chambers. It's no doubt urgent, you'd better go."

Seth gave a short nod, whipping out a comb and grabbing his hair gel from the refresher. "Okay."

Mission laughed. "Urgent means urgent. No time to stop and fix your hair, pretty boy."

He turned to glare at her for a second at the name calling. "That's why I'm doing it _on the way_, cupcake." Seth then ran the comb through his hair, spiking it neatly in the middle and ignoring his best friend's laughing behind his back.

* * *

After an unsettling discussion with the Council on the dream, Seth had been told that he and Bastila shared a strong Force bond. He wasn't sure exactly what a Force bond was, but it seemed both awkward and comforting at the same time. Although Bastila could see everything that was going through his head, he knew he would never have to be alone.

He found that he'd been having to search for the bright side of things a lot lately.

Seth rocked back and forth on his heels outside the Council Chambers, Carth leaning against the wall nearby. "Why are you out here, exactly?" the Captain asked, arching an eyebrow at Seth's sudden dismissal from the room.

"They're deciding if I'm gonna be a Jedi or not. And who's gonna be in charge of my training if I am."

Carth nodded slightly as if considering the words. "And... does it seem like they _are_ going to make you a Jedi, from what you've heard from them."

"Well, most of them seem to want me in the Order, but that Vrook guy is, like, _really_ anti-Seth at the moment."

"From what I've seen of him around here, he's got the same attitude towards anyone. Don't tell me you've never had a commanding officer like that. You know, the type of person who expects a lot, dishes out discipline like it's his religion, and eventually makes you a better soldier because of it? Vrook can be a real son of a schutta, but it's only because he expects a lot out of you."

Seth shrugged. "Maybe. All I want is to know about my parents."

The captain arched an eyebrow. "Aside from the obvious, why?"

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, frowning. "Why wouldn't I? I wanna know who they were, what they did... all that stuff. Maybe they're even still alive."

"All I'm saying is that you might find out some info that won't please you. You told me that you thought the Jedi took you to Jaq because they were forced to take you from your parents. Even if that's not the case, the Jedi have been keeping a close eye on you from square one. If they couldn't trust your parents... well, you know what I mean."

Seth shook his head. "No. I can tell they were good. When... when I touch Striker, for example. I can just feel this warm, pure energy coursing through the blade. That couldn't be evil. Not at all."

"Not all the Sith are evil, Seth," Carth said softly.

"What? Of course they are!"

The captain shook his head. "You were drafted into the Republic Army because you lived on Coruscant at the time, a Republic world. The Sith hold a number of densely populated planets, as well. They draft people all the time, people who don't know the difference between the sides of the war, most of the time, only that they're likely to get killed on the battlefield and never see their family or friends again."

That shook Seth to the core. He stumbled a bit, putting a hand against the wall to support himself. "I... I've killed people before, Sir. I never really took the chance to let them live and see their family again... I just thought... I thought I was helping to rid the galaxy of the bad guys, you know?"

"Sometimes, especially as soldiers, we constantly think of us being the good guys, and them being the bad guys. But I know for a fact that the people on their side think just the opposite. We're the evil ones, they're the righteous ones. But really, I don't think there is a definite good side or a definite bad side. We got plenty of jerks on our side, and so do they. And then we've got the nicer people, again on both sides."

"I never really thought of it that way before," Seth mumbled.

"That's one of the things in war that can make us lose our humanity. We can't just go about shooting every guy in silver armor without second thought. Sure, we have to fight them, or we're going to die. But don't forget that there's more behind the helmet."

"Yes, sir." He saluted, then glanced over at the doors to the Council Chambers as they hissed before opening. Bastila stood behind them, staring into Seth's eyes calmly.

"Come, Seth."

So it wasn't _Private Avery_ anymore. Seth suddenly got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he walked towards the center of the chamber on legs he was sure were about to give out in a matter of seconds. He kept his eyes downcast, unnerved by the fact that every Jedi in the room had their eyes on him. For a long while, silence settled over the room, the only sound being the faint breathing of all who were present. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Seth spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "So did you decide?"

"We did," Vrook answered bitterly.

Zhar cleared his throat. "We have decided that we have no choice but to train you in the ways of the Jedi. Your bond with Bastila and your visions of Revan and Malak may very well be what we need to win the war. We need to know more of this 'Star Forge' you dreamed of, and you're the only way we can gain the information we need."

Vrook spoke before Zhar could continue. "Do not, however, let your mind be filled with delusions of glory and power. Such thoughts can lead to the dark side."

"Sir, glory is probably the last thing I would think in this case."

"You will speak when prompted, young one."

Seth was about to reply with his common "Yes, sir," but Vandar spoke instead, chastising the bitter Master.

"Master Vrook, we run not a strict order, but a firm one. If we are to silence our students, their quest for knowledge shall also be snuffed out." The little green alien then turned to Seth. "Your training shall commence immediately. We have no time to lose. Please try to be patient, as the training of a Jedi takes many months, and perhaps even years. The fact that you have a young and open mind will assist in your training, but the time will still move slower than you shall wish. We are not trying to hold you back, we are just trying to make sure that you do not fall to the dark side when we send you away."

Seth nodded and saluted out of routine. "Yes, sir."

"I shall be your mentor during your training," Zhar said. "I look forward to it."

Seth nodded. "So do I, Master." Or, at least, he looked forward to asking the twi'lek about the parents he never knew.

"Council dismissed," Vandar said.

"One thing," Vrook said, staring Seth down with unforgiving eyes. "Your relationship with the twi'lek girl needs to terminate."

Seth felt an icy hand clench his heart. "_No. Not Mission. I can't. She's the only one keeping me sane right now._" He just turned and followed Bastila out of the chamber. He would cooperate with anything else the Jedi asked him to do, but he couldn't let go of Mission.

"_No fracking way._"

* * *

Three weeks of intense training later, Seth sat alone in the _Ebon Hawk_'s garage, his focus on his hydrospanner. Reaching his hand out to better channel the energy, he took a deep breath and opened his mind to the Force as he'd been told. Slowly, he moved his hand up in a command to the Force, to bring the tool into the air. Nothing happened.

Seth released the breath he'd been hoding, then took another, this time holding out both hands, staring down at the hydrospanner. The seemingly stubborn object remained positioned in the middle of the floor, unmoved. The teenager rubbed his temples lightly, remembering what Zhar had taught him.

_"It usually takes months for your ability to channel the Force to develop enough for you to manpulate objects." _Zhar had told him.

_"What would I have to do to get it down anyways, Master? Like, what would you tell me in a few months?"_ Seth had asked.

The Master had been hesitant to reply. _"I don't see any real need for you to know. But you do have a thirst for knowledge that is refreshing. Very well, I'll tell you, but don't expect it to work. You will be able to do it in a moment's notice eventually, but at the beginning it helps to clear your mind of everything but the task before you. The Force is your companion. Guide it towards the goal you wish to complete and it will help to control your actions."_

There _was_ a need for Seth to know. They didn't have the time to spend months on just learning the basics. If he was going to stop Malak, he needed to be able to manipulate the Force well enough to be a Jedi Knight in half the time it took to become a Padawan.

The only way he was able to cope with the pressure of the galaxy on his shoulders was his relationship with Mission. While everything felt as if it was about to fall apart, their friendship was the only thing seeming to get stronger as time went on. Although he held back from displaying his affections for her, especially with so many Jedi nearby, he made sure she knew how he felt about her. A kiss every night before bed, safely hidden away from Bastila or any other crew member, ensured that she did. And as far as he knew, she returned the feelings. Other than that, they acted simply as friends. Seth was almost sure that even Zalbaar was convinced that there was nothing romantic between the two.

Seth shook the thoughts of Mission away, along with everything else. "Clear your mind," he muttered to himself quietly. Slowly, his thoughts became blank, except for the image of the hydrospanner that remained clearly visible even when he closed his eyes.

He opened himself up to the Force again, feeling it flow from head to toe and back again. Lifting his hand, he commanded the Force once again, the single thought, _"Lift,"_ circulating through his brain. Using the energy gained, he used the Force as an extension of his arm, lifting it slightly as he focused on the hydrospanner. Slowly, the object shakily rose a few inches off the ground. Now that it was in the air, the effort he exerted nearly doubled. He took another breath, forcing the dizzyness away as he rotated the hydrospanner, making it rise another two inches.

"Kid!"

The faint echo of Canderous's voice bounced around inside his head, weaving in and out of concious thought. The hydrospanner began to tremble in the air, and Seth willed himself to focus all the strength he could muster on stilling the motions while keeping the levitation in progress.

"Avery!" Canderous yelled, much louder than before. The Mandalorian grabbed Seth roughly by the shoulder and shook him out of his trance. The hydrospanner clattered to the floor in front of him instantly.

Seth gasped, gulping in huge amounts of oxygen to fill his suddenly empty lungs. Then, he glared up at Canderous. "What was that for? I've been trying to put that thing in the air for the past three hours!"

"I'm sorry!" the Mandalorian growled irritably. "Next time I see you turning blue, I'll leave you alone!"

"What?" Seth asked, utterly confused.

"While you were having fun with your little magic trick there, you forgot to breathe," Canderous growled. He stalked off towards the galley, leaving Seth exhaustedly collapsing against the workbench.

It wasn't long before she walked in. Mission smiled down at him before going to sit on one of the pontoons of his swoop bike. "I heard you and Canderous, so I figured you were done."

"For now, yeah," he said. "I got it up there though."

She grinned. "That's awesome, Seth. How high?"

He lifted his hand about six inches from the durasteel floor. "Right about here."

"Oh... That's it?"

"It's not easy!" he said defensively. "I've been sweating over it for three hours and that's all I got! It takes practice. Most Jedi don't learn this stuff for months! I've only had a few weeks!"

Mission scooted away from him slightly. "Calm down, Seth. I didn't mean to insult you."

He sighed and stood up, walking closer to her until their foreheads touched. He took her hands in his and inhaled her scent, fresh and somewhat fruity in nature, letting the smell calm his frayed nerves. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know you didn't mean anything. I'm just so... frustrated, you know?"

She smiled, sliding off the edge of the pontoon to slide her arms around his neck and embrace him tightly. He slithered his arms around her waist, hugging her to him. "I understand," she said quietly. "Just try not to let it affect you."

He pulled back slightly to bring his mouth closer to hers, but she jerked her head away. Seth just looked at her with hurt and bewilderment.

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "Bastila's in the main hold. Considering that dumb bond you guys have, I don't think that getting cozy with me right now is the best idea."

Seth grinned, dropping his forehead down onto hers again. "Right." He walked backwards, towing her with him as she was still tightly bound in his embrace, until he was leaning against the edge of the workbench. Hesitantly, Seth reached out in the Force to touch her emotions. He felt a strong sense of restrainment from her, and he tried to follow it to the thought it was attatched to. So she _did_ want to kiss him, but she knew she couldn't. He was proud of how strong she was. "It's hard for me, too," he whispered. "Just hold on until tonight, okay?"

She smiled. "Alright. I wish we had clearance to leave the enclave, how long do I have to wait for you to get that?"

"Until Padawan trials, I'm afraid. And that's after I can use the Force and after I get a lightsaber."

She groaned in frustration, leaning further into his chest. "That's gonna take a while, huh?"

"Yeah," he said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Why do you wanna go out there so suddenly?"

Mission chuckled slightly. "I'm thinking something along the lines of 'Mish and Seth, sitting in a tree...'" she trailed off, letting him finish the rest of the rhyme that used to be an insult when they were kids.

Seth laughed. "'K-I-S-S-I-N-G?'"

She smiled. "Something's gotta make up for that once a day occurance."

"Now you have me even more impatient, thanks."

She laughed. "No problem."

He checked his chrono, then looked at her apologetically. "Gotta go, babe. See you later tonight, cargo hold?"

She nodded, then closed her eyes as his lips brushed ever so slightly against her forehead. He winked at her before turning around to jog down the loading ramp. His training awaited.

* * *

_**One month later...**_

She wasn't going easy on him anymore.

The thought knocked Seth off balance for a fraction of a second, and suddenly he was on the defensive, blocking one heavy blow after the next from slicing him in half.

Perhaps if they hadn't been using real swords, he would have felt more comforted. But the fact that Bastila was really a threat to his life almost scared him. He knew she would never hurt him on purpose, but he was still an apprentice, albeit an advanced one. His training had taken a dangerous turn as the Jedi sought to show him that the Sith wouldn't ease up on a kid. They would kill him if they got the chance.

Bastila's double-bladed sword moved in a sweeping arc over his head, which he brought Striker up to meet, then Seth tossed his sword back down again to block the inevitable strike from the opposite blade. He summoned the Force, and sent a chair from the side of the room flying towards her. She easily caught the chair in midair with her own senses, letting it clatter to the floor.

Seth wasn't a fool. He knew that at this stage, he couldn't outmatch her through the Force. But the feint gave him the second of distraction he needed, and he seized the opportunity. He crossed his sword around the lower blade of hers and flicked his wrist twisting her arm around her back due to his sheer strength. Seth then danced behind her, out of reach, and extended his boot, knocking her to the ground. Before he could continue, however, she whirled around on the ground, sweeping her legs in an attempt to trip him. Seth sensed the movement before it came, and leapt lightly into the air, touching the ground again soundlessly, kicking her sword out of reach before summoning it to his hand through the Force.

For a long moment, the room was silent aside from the heavy, exhausted breathing of the two combatants. Seth dropped Bastila's sword and wiped sweat from his brow. "How was that?" he asked.

She stood, brushing herself off. "Better. Watch your form, though. You're getting sloppy and careless once you're on the offensive. Malak would have fried you with lightning like that." Bastila picked up her sword and walked off toward the Enclave's refreshers.

"Crap," Seth said angrily. "Why can't this ever be _easy_?"

"Because the path of the light is never easy," someone said from behind him. Seth turned to see Master Dorak smiling at him. The boy bowed low.

"Hello, Master," he said. Seth worked to hold back the question that burned inside him. He knew the Jedi would tell him of his parents in due time, but of all people, Dorak would be able to let him know the most.

Luckily for Seth, Dorak sensed his thoughts. "Vrook doesn't agree, but Vandar, Zhar, and I believe you will benefit from the knowledge of your mother and father."

"Thank you, Master," Seth said quickly.

"I can understand your eagerness, but do not be alarmed if not all in the story goes how you wish. Both your parents were strong, powerful Jedi. In fact, I directly trained your father here at the Enclave around twenty years ago. He was strong-willed, but respectful and loyal. He was a quiet man, but he always seemed to be able to talk to your mother. Now, _she_ was a remarkable woman. Outgoing, charismatic, brilliant, beautiful. She had nearly everything to be proud about, yet she was humble in almost every way. While we sensed only friendship between the two, however, we realized much too late that they had gone behind the backs of the council and secretly married. When the issues of the Mandalorian War sprouted, your mother jumped at the opportunity to help others and was one of the first to join Revan and Malak's campaign to stop the Mandalorians. Your father followed, unwilling to let her leave without him. All who went to fight the Mandalorians were expelled from the order, including your parents. They followed Revan and Malak to the end, however. When the campaign was just beginning to simmer, before even Malak and Revan had officially entered the war, you were birthed. You experienced the life of a military child until you were three, when the Council was forced to intervene and take you from your mother and father for safety reasons. Your father disagreed, but your mother eventually believed it was for the best, and requested that we release you into the custody of a friend, Jaq Rand. So we met him at Nar Shaddaa, and you went with him. Both your parents continued to fight, and by the end of the war, were some of the most successful Jedi Generals in the war. When Revan and Malak turned to the dark side, however, they asked their followers whether they would continue to follow in their footsteps. Those who disagreed were slaughtered by the Master and Apprentice. Your parents are among those who were killed."

Seth's mind reeled as Dorak concluded his story. He clenched the hilt of his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Th- Thank you, Master," he said shakily, then turned to walk out of the chamber, feeling hot tears sting his eyes. Out of nowhere, he was sprinting, running to the _Ebon Hawk_, up the loading ramp, and into the medbay, where he closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the bed, letting the tears fall. An array of emotions swelled up inside him, emotions that he was too upset to attempt to hide from Bastila.

"Seth?" Mission's voice called softly from outside the medbay, for once unable to give him comfort.

"Go away, Mish," he nearly yelled. He would have felt bad, had he not been feeling so many other things.

Betrayal. His parents had gone against their oaths, risked the fate of the Jedi Order, just to blast away some Mandalorian nerfherders. And they took him along for the ride without any care for his safety. Despair. He'd been hoping that perhaps his parents still lived, that he would be able to see them again. Now the chance was gone. Loss. Seth had had his childhood stripped away from him. He would never be able to get the years back that his friends had known. He'd never bounced on his father's knee; he'd never hugged his mother goodnight.

_Hate_.

The emotion he'd always tried to avoid now overtook him as he clenched his teeth in anger. Revan and Malak had taken _everything_ away from him. His parents, his youth, his friends aboard the Endar Spire. Revan's death wasn't good enough. He needed blood.

The mission against Malak had just gotten personal.


	12. Requirements for promotion

**A/N: So I guess it's about time I updated, huh? It's not very long, so forgive me. I actually would have posted this yesterday, but seeing as it was my birthday, I was too busy. Reviews are the coolest things on planet Earth, remember that! K bye. (:**

* * *

Seth rubbed his hand across his chin, eyeing himself in the mirror critically. "Sir?" he called, keeping his eyes on his reflection.

"Yeah?" Carth called from the main hold.

"When did you start shaving?"

"I think around age seventeen," Carth replied nonchalantly.

Seth nodded to himself slightly, setting the razor back down on the refresher counter. He frowned for a moment, then called out again. "Canderous? What about you?"

"Thirteen," the Mandalorian replied curtly.

"Oh," Seth said, cautiously picking the blade back up. He glanced at it warily. He had the feeling he needed to start shaving, but he had no idea how it worked. The blades of the razor could slit his chin if he wasn't careful.

"Blast it, kid, what are you doing?" Canderous asked, now leaning against the doorframe. Seth jumped in surprise. "You can't just shave dry!"

"Well what do I do, just... get my face wet?" Seth asked, slightly angry.

Canderous rolled his eyes, annoyedly shoving a can of shaving cream into Seth's hands. "Use this, and don't use up the blasted can! There better be enough in there to last me a week when you're done!"

Seth glanced down at the razor, torn between his options, before squirting some shaving cream into his palm.

* * *

That night, Mission laughed when he told her about the instance. She doubted she would have guessed he'd shaved if she hadn't felt the smoothness of his chin during their nightly get together in the cargo hold. Seth's ears flushed a deep red, and she shook her head with a grin.

"Don't be embarassed, it's just... It's funny!"

Seth folded his arms. "It's not like you would have known any better! You're a girl, you don't have to shave!"

She frowned. "I have to shave more than you! My legs aren't naturally that smooth!"

He arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

Mission rolled her eyes. "Of course not!" Did he really have that little knowledge of women? "What, you never saw a chick in the military?"

He blushed. "Well... I did... But we never really got much time other than duty."

Mission cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Wait... what?"

"I... well, there was a girl... and I sorta liked her, but duty-"

"And you never told me about her before?"

"I didn't think it was important!"

"What, that you've had romantic interests before me? Of course that's important! I always thought I was your first..."

"I... Well... I'm sorry, Mish. You weren't."

"Who was she?"

"Her.. Her name was Drea. We were in the same boot camp for about ten months before we were all sent off to serve in space. I served on the Endar Spire, and she went to serve on the Silver Sun."

"How close were you?"

"Well... pretty close to tell you the truth."

"How far did you two go?" she made her voice quieter, to hide the fact that the news he was delivering was tearing her apart.

"One kiss, Mish. That's all. The night before we left... I haven't even seen her since!"

"Did you love her?" she whispered.

"What?" Seth asked incredulously. "No! Love's not an emotion I take lightly, Mish! Why do you even care? She's just some girl, for all you know! It's been two months since I've even seen her!"

"Just 'some girl?' You're either lying through your teeth right now, or you have a complete lack of respect for women. What am I then? Just 'some girl?'"

Seth frowned. "No, you're Mission. You're my best friend."

_Best friend_

. She hated the words when he used them. Weren't they obviously more than friends? Mission shook her head. "Okay, 'some girl who's your friend.' Got it. Sorry for the mix up."

He hesitated, then lifted his arm, putting a hand on the back of her neck. "Mish..."

She shrugged away from his touch, eyes downcast. "I'm tired," she muttered. "Night." With that, she stormed off to her quarters, not even caring that she'd never gotten her kiss for the night.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Seth asked Master Zhar, excitement building.

"Of course I am," Zhar chuckled. "Do not take this lightly, however. The lightsaber is a tool, and it marks your position within our order. It will earn you respect with some, and enemity with others. I feel you are ready for the responsibility that comes with wielding such a tool, however."

"So... what do I do?"

"The Force shall guide you in building your lightsaber. All that matters is crystal selection."

"Right. I want a green one. Can I have a green one?"

Zhar chuckled. "You've already taken the placement test with Master Dorak, correct?"

"That's the whole Guardian, Sentinel, Consular quiz, right?"

"Yes, and he'd told me you would serve best as a guardian. Therefore, your chosen lightsaber color should be blue." The Jedi Master produced a blue crystal.

"So.. Just because I'm a Guardian, I have to use a blue crystal? Do green lightsabers not work for me, then?"

"No, they will work, but there are traditions among our order. If one were to spot you in battle, your blade color would signify your likely combat style. While it isn't a good idea to fight too close to a Guardian ally, it is better for your safety if you fight near a consular. Do you understand?"

"Well... Yeah, I guess. But... what if I use a blue-green crystal? Would that be allowed?"

Zhar smiled. "If you can find one in your travels to come, yes, that would be acceptable."

"Deal," Seth replied with a laugh, and palmed the blue crystal. He walked over to the workbench, and stared down at the materials on the table. Some were simple, others he'd never seen before in his life. And as he looked at the tools, he had no idea where to begin. Seth sighed, closing his eyes and reaching out to touch the Force. The connection happened almost instantly now, and he smiled as he realized how far he'd come in the past two months. He vaguely felt his hands moving as he kept his eyes closed, his focus solely on the Force. All he had to do was figure out a plan, a blueprint to building the lightsaber, and then use the Force to keep the steps in his mind as he built. Seth searched the Force endlessly, but found nothing. Frowning, he reached out to touch the minds of the Masters, which all immediately closed off accessways before he could delve too deeply into their minds. He followed thought trails to the Ebon Hawk. The first mind he touched there was Zaalbar's. Seth smiled slightly as he realized that, as always, the wookiee was thinking about food. Carth's mind was focused on polishing his blaster. There was one spot near the edge that just wouldn't shine like the rest of the weapon. Canderous was shopping, taking an extensive look at a sniper rifle. For once, Seth felt a sense of bliss spreading warmly through the Mandalorian. Bewildered, the teen shut the link off, continuing to Bastila's mind. The code. As always. This time, she was angry at Mission for leaving the women's dormitory in such a mess. Seth could also feel his best friend's frustration at Bastila. He shook his head. There was no point. He was getting sidetracked now, and there was no blueprint to building a lightsaber. He was going to have to wing it. As Seth closed off the intense connection with the Force and opened his eyes, however, he gasped.

There, in his hands, was a built lightsaber. He'd crafted it without even realizing it. He glanced back at Zhar, who, gave him a nod of approval. Seth activated it without second thought. The blue blade sprang to life, humming softly. He swung the light weapon around, glad that Striker had been built to feel like a lightsaber, the hums getting louder as the blade moved. Since Striker's blade was so lightweight, it had trained Seth for the weightless blade of a lightsaber.

"Now, if you are done admiring your handiwork, I have one more task for you before you can officially enter our order."

Seth deactivated the lightsaber and arched an eyebrow. "Officially?"

Zhar nodded. "If you can complete this task, you will be promoted to Padawan."

Seth's eyes opened wide, shamelessly revealing his excitement. "What do you need me to do, Master?"

"There is a grove out in the plains which was once sacred to the Jedi. However, there is a darkness that emanates from it these days. It is affecting the kath hounds, tainting them."

"You want me to kill the kath hounds?"

"Killing the kath hounds won't solve the problem, young one. You must deal with the source of the taint."

"What is the source of the taint, exactly? How do I destroy it?"

"I'm afraid those are things you must find out for yourself. This task, if completed correctly, will allow you to grow in your strength, both mentally and physically. I will tell you this, though: What is lost can be returned, and darkness is never permanent."

"Great"

Seth thought. "All the clues I got are in a fortune cookie answer." He still bowed, however, mostly out of respect than actual gratitude. "I will carry out this task, Master," he said, before walking out. There was only one person he wanted with him, and only because they needed to make things right. He found her sitting against the tree in the main courtyard. "C'mon Mish," he said, offering only the slightest glance in her direction.

"Where are we going?" she asked, falling into step next to him.

"Outside. Time for your sitting in a tree fantasy."

* * *

The plains were not as romantic as Mission had envisioned.

Not that that meant anything to her anymore. Drea had changed her relationship with Seth. She wasn't exactly sure why she was upset. It could have been that she was not the only one to pursue a relationship with Seth. It could have been the fact that he had hidden it for so long. She assumed it was a mixture of the two. But what affected her most was the look in Seth's dark blue eyes when he talked about Drea. It was an expression more emotional than any she'd seen from him.

And Mission hated to admit it to herself, but she was jealous. She wished that Seth would get that look whenever her name was mentioned. She wished he would think of her as more than just his best friend.

Best friends with benefits, sure, but they still had yet to become a couple. Mission knew that as much as she wanted that, neither of them were going to be ready for a serious relationship for a long time.

She shook the thoughts from her head as she aimed her pistol quickly and felled yet another kath hound with a shot to the head. Seth swung his new lightsaber, the weapon humming as it slashed through a hound's abdomen, slicing the beast in two halves like a knife through butter.

The humming stopped when Seth deactivated his lightsaber. He turned to face Mission, his face gleaming with sweat. The humidity of the plains had destroyed his fauxhawk, and his hair instead remained wet and plastered to his head. A few strands hung down over his forehead, nearly covering his eyebrow. Mission made a mental note to remind him to get a haircut later.

"We're getting closer," he said. "Keep your guard up."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, the kath hound attacks are becoming more frequent as we go. And for another thing, I can sense stuff through the Force. And I'm getting a really bad feeling the further we go. I'm pretty sure that's the dark side."

Mission arched her eyebrow. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about, but I trust you. Lead on."

They rounded the corner, and Mission's eyes widened at the sight of the structure before her. It was small, and open to the sun, with most of the stone crumbling away. What shocked her most, however, was the lone figure kneeling, surrounded by dead Mandalorians, in the center of the grove. An ominous feeling settled into Mission's stomach as the woman looked up at the two intruders. A chill ran down the Twi'lek's spine as her eyes made contact with a pair of yellow, cat-like eyes. That must have been the 'dark side' Seth had been talking about.

She assumed as much, considering the snap-hiss sound she heard to her left. Seth's lightsaber sprang to life, the deep blue color of the blade giving Mission some comfort. The same sound occured in front of her, and Mission glanced up just in time to see a blood red blade extend from a metal hilt. She gulped.

T3 let out a low dwoooo, conveying his uneasiness with the situation.

"Me too, little guy," Mission whispered, unholstering her blaster. She was the first to make a move, squeezing the trigger several times in rapid succession. All Mission could see, however, was a blur of red light, and her blaster bolts flying away in every direction, ricocheting off of the strange woman's lightsaber. T3 backed her up, shooting as well, only to meet the same fate. It was then that Seth moved, his lightsaber spinning as he leapt for his enemy. For a moment, Mission just watched in awe as the two combatants spun around each other, their lightsabers clashing in magnificent displays of red and blue. They nearly seemed to dance together. Every move was precise and to the letter, their feet moved in sync with the other's. A wrong step would result in dismemberment. All the while, T3 continued to shoot, and the woman, with cat-like reflexes, continued to deflect them despite her engagement with Seth.

She noticed Seth leap back a few steps, narrowly avoiding the loss of an arm, and raise his hand. The woman flew backwards, landing on her feet, but stunned. Mission acted quickly, raising her blaster and shooting the woman's shoulder. She cried out in pain, and the lightsaber dropped from her hand. Seth summoned it with the Force, then held both blades to the woman's throat.

"Nice shot, Mish," he breathed.

"Do it quickly," the woman pleaded in a heavy accent. Mission realized that her cat like appearance and voice were a result of her species. She was not human, as Mission had first suspected, but Cathar.

"Do what quickly?" Seth asked, as innocent as ever. Mission rolled her eyes at his naivity.

"Kill me. I know that is what you came here to do."

"No, I came here to remove the taint in the grove."

"You must know by now that I am the source of that taint."

Seth frowned in confusion and thought, and expression that Mission had always found incredibly cute for him. "You aren't the source of the taint. It's the darkness within you."

"And that is why you must kill me. I turned on my Master. I killed her. I failed the test of strength in the light, the same test that you have been sent on. Kill me, and you will pass. You have not turned to the dark side as I have."

"If you can turn so easily to the dark side, then you must be able to turn back to the light."

"Why would the council accept me? How can they forgive me?"

"Forgiveness is a form of compassion, encouraged by the Jedi. If you are earnest enough in your intent to free yourself from your passions, and willing to remain in the light, I am sure you will be accepted."

"Do you really think so?" the Cathar asked, sounding hopeful.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Seth reasoned.

She nodded slowly. "I will ask. Thank you."

"It's what I do," Seth said with a shrug. The Cathar nodded and allowed a small smile before turning away, beginning to jog back towards the enclave.

"That was interesting... and sort of creepy," Mission said.

"Creepy? How so?"

"Oh, did you miss out on the part where she was trying to kill you?"

"Good point," Seth said. "We should probably head back. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Mission asked, confused.

"Well... you said... You know. We can have some time for us. We're far from the Jedi and we're far from Bastila. We don't have to hide anything. We can be just Seth and Mission."

"We are being Seth and Mission. And last time I checked, Seth had a thing for a girl named Drea."

"I'm never going to see her again, Mish."

"It's obvious you still have feelings for her. And I don't want to have to work to live up to her standards."

"You don't! Look, I like you. A lot. Just for different reasons than the ones I like Drea for."

"You still like Drea, though."

"Well... yeah. I mean, we went through too much for me to just forget about her when I meet another girl."

"Come back to me when I'm the only one, and maybe we'll talk. You have to learn to make the girl feel special, Seth."

He sighed. "Okay. Let's go back, then." He led the way, T3 on his heels. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Yeah," Mission replied. "I'm not so angry that I'll block you out of my life completely."

"That's all I needed to hear. Thanks."

It was time to lighten up the situation. Mission hated it when things got too emotional. "It's what I do?" she joked, grinning at him.

It worked. She recieved a smile and a laugh from the boy. "That's my line."

"You do say it a bit too much, you know."

"What can I say? It's what I do." He winked.

Mission just scoffed and punched him playfully. He nudged her back, and she giggled as she shoved him harder and darted out of his reach before he could get her back. He chased her all the way to the enclave, laughing the whole way.


	13. Ruins and Astrograpy Quizzes

"Seth!"

A harsh whisper and a none-too-gentle nudge from Bastila roused Seth from his sleep, and the boy groaned pitifully, flopping over on his bunk. He opened his cool blue eyes, blinking twice to let them adapt to the lighting, and stared up at the older Jedi groggily. "Whadd'ya want?" he mumbled, forgetting protocol in his tiredness.

She stared down at him, stern look in eye, hands on hips, for a good minute before he remembered rank. The boy sat bolt upright in bed at that moment, squaring his shoulders and saluting. "Sorry, ma'am," he said, yawning despite his most valiant efforts to hold it back.

"Pardoned," she said. "You must report to the Council Chambers for pre-ceremony preparations."

Seth nearly smacked his forehead in frustration. He'd completely forgotten about his induction ceremony. "How late am I?"

"Only a few minutes. I'd have come earlier, but I've had enough trouble trying to convince Miss Vao that this is a _formal_ event."

"Meaning she refuses to ditch the vest."

"Or anything else of her usual attire." Bastila rolled her eyes. "Is it necessary for her to attend?"

"Absolutely," Seth said firmly. "She's my best friend; I want her there."

"Well, right now, your best friend is making things difficult for the rest of us."

"Want me to talk to her?" he offered. "And you stall the Council?"

"_Stall_ the Council," Bastila repeated as if he were crazy.

"You don't seem like you want Mish to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt to this thing, ma'am," he pointed out.

"Point taken, private," she replied, nodding her head towards the doorway. She's in the women's dormitory." The older Jedi strode out of the room, and Seth tossed the sheets to the side, shivering when the cold air made contact with his bare chest. He slid off the edge of the bed, pulling his footlocker from its usual place beneath the bunk and taking a simple black shirt and pair of shorts from the pile of clothes tossed carelessly into the storage unit. He would recieve proper clothing for the ceremony from the Council, most likely a robe.

Once dressed, Seth advanced toward Mission's dorm, only to meet her in the doorway to the garage, surprised that he didn't have to persuade her into the dress. Instead, she was wearing it, a plain, green number that cut off just above her knees. He raised his eyebrows as his teenage eyes took in the curves that he'd never seen behind the t-shirts and vests.

"Gonna stare like that all day or do you have a ceremony to go to or something?" she said, half sarcastic.

"Wow," he said, taking a breath. "You look... amazing."

"At least someone thinks so. Tell me I don't have to sit next to Bastila during this thing. I'm incredibly close to screwing up that perfect face of hers."

He chuckled. "I think she'll be standing with the Jedi."

"Good." She was quiet for a moment, before glancing up at him. "Do you really think I look good, or are you just saying that?"

"Mission, you're beautiful," he said with a smile, touching her chin to bring her head up. He hesitated before leaning in closer, nearly closing the gap between their lips before she pulled away.

"You'd better go. I think you're late already."

Seth sighed inwardly. Mission was still upset about Drea. He stepped back, nodding. "Yeah. I'll, uh... see you later."

* * *

Carth almost chuckled at the sight of Seth, nearly swimming in the mess of robes the Council had made him wear. However, the Captain managed to hold his amusement back, letting only a small smirk appear on his face. He, unlike Mission, didn't have to dress 'formally' due to his position as a Republic Soldier; instead he wore only his uniform, which he'd cleaned specially for the occasion per Bastila's request.

He watched as Vandar activated his short green lightsaber, touching it to either shoulder of a kneeling Republic-private-turned-Jedi. Seth raised his head from, smiling modestly as Vandar declared him a Padawan. It wasn't a very eventful ceremony, but Carth had no doubt of its importance. The Jedi filed out of the chamber one by one, leaving only the Council and the Ebon Hawk's crew in the room.

"Master, can get I rid of the robes? My shirt was more fitting and less itchy."

Seth's first words brought an uncontrollable snort out from the Captain. Vandar just nodded understandingly, while Zhar apologized for the Enclave's lack of properly fitted robes. The boy just shrugged and pulled the mass of brown fabric over his head, leaving him wearing nothing but a pair of plain black pants. Carth glanced over at Mission, who had immediately become interested in fiddling with the hem of her dress, unconsciously glancing at the boy's toned muscles every now and then. He shook his head. The two needed to get over themselves.

"Mission, put your hormones away," he whispered. He noticed her blush and become very interested in her shoes, making him work to hold back an amused snort.

"Now," Vandar's elderly voice cut through the silence, "I'm afraid we will have to cut the pleasantries short. We promoted you to Padawan because we need you and Bastila to investigate this dream of yours. This... _vision_."

"Master, how exactly do you expect us to investigate something we only see in dreams?" Seth asked curiously.

Vrook gave the boy a silencing look. "If you would let us explain, your question would be answered."

Seth bowed respectfully, returning to his 'Jedi-mode.' "Of course, Master. Sorry."

Zhar looked directly at Carth, Mission, and Canderous. "I'm afraid the three of you need to leave for the time being. What we have to say is, for now, for Seth's and Bastila's ears only."

T3 emitted a questioning series of beeps, and the Twi'lek master smiled. "Yes," he replied. "That means you must leave, too." The little astromech let out a woeful _dwooo_ that made even Carth feel sympathy, before rolling out. Canderous and Mission followed suit, and the Republic Captain turned to salute to Seth before filing out of the chamber as well.

* * *

The 'burial mounds' terrified Seth more than he would admit. At the moment the group first began to make their way to the ancient structure, he'd felt his knees go weak and a cold sweat break out on his forehead. Carth had asked if he was okay, and Seth had mumbled something about getting sick from Zaalbar's cooking. It couldn't be farther from the truth. He'd _felt_ the darkness of the place in his dreams, and the thought of entering the place scared him to the point of nausea.

"Ma'am," he whispered as they walked up to the ominous stone doors that instantly brought his thoughts back to his nightmares. "I'm not so sure about this."

"It's not a question of whether you're sure or not," Bastila replied harshly. "We follow the Council's orders, not our feelings."

"You saw the vision, too," he replied. "There's something evil in there. Something that caused Malak and Revan to _never go back_. Remember?"

"Quit whining like a gizka and grow a spine," Mission said with a roll of her eyes. "Ignore him," she addressed Bastila. "Let's get in and get this over with."

The comments stung, but Seth wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing. Instead, he held a hand up, mirroring Bastila's movements as she waved her fingers in front of the door. It slid open, the stones rising and falling just as his dreams had depicted, to create an open archway leading into a dark, uninviting room. Seth watched as Bastila entered, then as Mission walked past him wordlessly. He winced at the brash treatment from both women and turned to Carth and Zaalbar. "Last chance to turn away," he said nervously. Zaalbar just let out a pitying grunt and pushed him through the doorway.

He shivered as a chill ran down his spine, pulling his jacket tighter around him. A bad feeling was clutching at his chest, and the emotional beating that Mission had unknowingly dealt his heart wasn't helping his feelings any. He jogged forward to catch up with Bastila, meeting her at the second door. It opened just like the first, and slid open to reveal a small square room adorned with deteriorating stone décor. In the center sat a disabled spider-like droid, obviously ancient. Several metallic arms and probes extended from its central chassis, assisting in increasing Seth's fears.

"Looks broken," Carth commented with a shrug.

"Heh," Seth mumbled. "Yeah. Broken. Can't do anything."

At the sound of his voice, the droid made a strange gutteral sound, causing the boy to jump in surprise. Mission turned to him and smirked. "Scared, hotshot?"

"This place gives me the creeps, okay?" he retorted angrily and defensively.

The droid made a different sound, high pitched and ear piercing. Carth placed a finger in each ear to block out the noise. "What the hell is that?"

"I think it's trying to communicate with us," Bastila said, "by cycling through different languages."

"Forget it," Seth said. "It doesn't speak anything we can understand."

At this, the droid responded in a language Seth _could_ understand, although its grammar was much more formal than he'd ever heard it be spoken. "[I can speak any of the languages spoken by the slaves of the Builders.]"

"Just kidding," he muttered, glancing back at his party. "I understood that."

"As did I," Bastila replied. "It sounds like an ancient form of Selkath."

"That would explain the variant in dialogue," Seth said with a nod of understanding.

"Wait. Why would a droid on Dantooine speak Selkath?" Mission asked.

"It's not a water-based world," Carth commented, scratching his chin in confusion. "Selkath would have never settled here, even if they moved around in their ancient years."

"I don't know," Bastila admitted.

"[Perhaps it has something to do with these 'Builders' the droid keeps talking about,]" Zalbaar suggested.

"It responds to you, Seth," the older Jedi said. "Ask it."

"Uhh, alright. Who are the Builders?"

"[The Builders are the rulers of the galaxy, creators of the greatest empire to ever span the galaxy. The Star Forge was their work of art. They are the glorious ones to whom this monument is dedicated.]"

Seth cocked his head, confused. "Yeah, but who are they?"

"[They are... they are the rulers of the galaxy, creators of the greatest-]"

"You already said that. I mean who were they? What species?"

"[The Builders are the Builders. They simply are who they are.]"

"What in the blazes does that mean?"

"Do you think that that was the name of the species?" Mission asked hopefully. "A 'Builder?' Maybe they were wiped out before we could find out about them."

"I doubt it, Mish," Carth said, putting a hand on the youth's shoulder. "But it was a good guess."

"It's obvious that the droid doesn't hold the information we seek," Bastila said.

"So what do we do?" Seth asked.

"[If information is what you have come for, you must prove yourself in the proving grounds to the east and west. If you pass your tests, the doors behind me shall open. If you fail, however, extreme punishment will befall you.]" Its head rotated in the direction of a body lying on the ground that none in the party had noticed until that moment. Seth recognized the fallen Jedi as Nemo, a kind man who, although low in rank, still wore his title as a Jedi proudly.

"Did you kill him?" Seth asked angrily, hand on his lightsaber. He took a threatening step towards the droid.

Carth put a hand on Seth's shoulder and pulled him back, giving him a stern look. "Calm down, Private."

"There is no emotion," Bastila started, looking at him expectantly as if he were supposed to finish the sentence for her.

Seth rolled his eyes. "There is peace," he said unconvincingly. He turned back to the droid. "Where do I go?"

"[The doors on either side of me are unlocked. Pass the tests within and you will be allowed view the knowledge of the Builders for yourself, and the secrets of the Star Forge will be yours.]

Seth took a breath and headed for the doors that the droid indicated, the rest of the party on his heel. Mission pulled out her blaster when she approached the room, causing everyone else to draw their weapons as well. A sense of uneasiness passed over the group, and this time nobody said anything to Seth when he nervously opened the door. The room beyond was quiet and nearly empty aside from an ancient looking console on the far wall. He approached it cautiously, then cocked his head at the strange buttons and turned to the others. "I have _no_ idea how to work something this old."

Mission rolled her eyes and pushed him gently aside. "Taris had a ton of old consoles. Not this old, but old enough that I'll know how to figure this out." Zalbaar roared his agreement.

She pressed a few buttons, attempting to get a feel for the console, before causing it to make a few noises. Seth heard them echo softly off his datapad, and looked down. Mission, apparently, heard the noise as well, and she swiped it easily from his jacket pocket. He watched as she ran her fingertips along the outer edge of the console, successfully finding a slot in which to insert the datapad. They waited for a moment, as the datapad slid into the receptacle. The computer made a few alarming noises before falling silent.

Seth began, "What did you do to my-"

"Shh!" Mission cut him off. He reluctantly fell silent, watching her work at the computer. He couldn't help but admire her skill with technology. It came as naturally to her as did breathing. Her beautiful brown eyes flicked up and down the computer screen, making sure no vital parts of her operation went wrong. Full blue lips pursed as she waited for results, and lekku twitched as she frowned. Seth smiled to himself. She made impatience look cute.

After a few minutes, a satisfying bleep from the machine signaled that its job was done, and Seth's datapad emerged from the receptacle. Mission handed it to him without looking, and Seth intentionally brushed his bare fingers against hers. She shuddered slightly, but kept her focus on the computer still, typing in a few key commands before words scrawled across the screen in Basic.

Mission stood, clapping her hands together. "There ya go," she said while taking a step back. "Have at it."

Seth focused on the screen, frowning at the question he'd been asked. _What are three life-giving world seed types?_

"It's an agricultural question," he replied. "Why?"

"This is a monument to an empire," Bastila replied. "I'm sure this is to make sure those seeking the knowledge knew the fundamentals of having a successful empire- Healthy, agricultural worlds to feed their people."

Seth nodded. "Well, I don't know the fundamentals, I guess. Anybody know what a life-giving seed world type is? Or, three seed world types? I never really took Astrography I in the military."

"Don't look at me," Mission said. "I never went to school, period."

"This is easy," Carth said with a roll of his eyes. "Grassland, Arboreal, and Oceanic." His answer only served to cause the others to cock their eyebrows at him oddly. The captain put his hands up defensively. "My wife used to garden, okay?"

"Uh-huh..." mumbled Mission skeptically.

Seth shrugged and typed the answers into the terminal, hoping that Carth was right. An affirmative beep sounded from the computer, and it shut off immediately. He turned to Mission. "That's a good thing, right?"

She shrugged. "How am I s'posed to know? I'm not a computer guru, I just know more than the average idiot."

"Idiot meaning me?"

Mission smiled a bit. "Of course." She reached down to retrieve Seth's datapad and handed it to him, smiling sweetly. "Who else would that apply to?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I dun'no... Brejik was pretty dumb. Or those _sleemo _Rodians that had the nerve to threaten you when we first met. They weren't too bright."

She giggled, giving Seth that giddy feeling he felt every time he successfully made her laugh: a feeling he hadn't experienced in a while. "I'll admit it, you're not _the_ biggest idiot in the galaxy. Maybe just out of the crew of the _Hawk_."

"Can we move on?" Bastila asked impatiently. "Remember, we still have another test to pass."

Seth shrugged. "Sure, ready when you are."

The party followed Bastila beyond the droid and to the opposite doorway. "Hopefully this test is about something more relative to our knowledge," she remarked, opening the door. In front of them, two combat droids powered up, charging up shields and blasters.

"Well," said Seth as he activated his lightsaber, "combat _is_ more relative to our knowledge."

Mission ducked behind a fallen pillar for cover, firing from behind it only to have her shot disrupted by the droid's shields. "You just _had_ to open your mouth, didn't you?"

"It's not like we'd be able to answer any more agricultural questions, anyway," Bastila defended herself. She twirled her double-bladed lightsaber in an arc, deflecting blasterfire in a blur of yellow light.

"I think Carth could've handled it," Mission replied.

The captain paused to let his twin blasters cool down, taking shelter behind a wall. "I'd prefer a straight up fight," he muttered. "Can somebody get these shields down? Don't we have an ion grenade or something?"

Four heads turned toward the wookiee. Zaalbar simply shrugged. "[Don't look at me,]" the Wookiee said, raising a hairy finger to point at Seth. "[He's been asking me for nothing but frags.]"

Seth glared at Zaalbar for giving him away before giving more apologetic looks to the others. "Sorry! I didn't figure we'd be facing anything other than kath hounds for a while." At that moment, Seth remembered one of the aspects of the Force that Zhar had taught him, and he let a smile split his face. "_But_, I think I know something better." He offered no explanation to his friends' inquiring looks, but he stepped out from his cover to face the two droids. He closed his eyes, barely hearing their targeting systems lock on to him.

"Seth!" he heard Mission exclaim, and she yanked him back behind her pillar as the blasterfire began. "Are you _insane_?" she asked, true worry showing in her eyes. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

He looked straight into her deep brown eyes. "Just... trust me. Okay? I know what I'm doing."

The twi'lek's shoulder's slumped as she gave in. "Be careful."

He stood again, placing himself in front of the droids. Seth reached out to touch the Force, using it to feel the electrical power fueling the energy shields on the two droids. Through the bond, he felt their target reticles adjust, preparing to fire on the teenage boy standing in front of them. Still, Seth did not rush. He mentally grasped the source of power, and with a single clench of his fist, crushed it through the Force. He opened his eyes, excitement building as he saw the lightning-like energy dancing between his palm and the two droids, just as it had during his battle with the governer. The shields flickered and dropped, causing Seth to disrupt the link and pull back. Bastila was on the first droid in less than a second, dicing it thoroughly, while blaster work from Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar all but disintegrated the second.

With both tests now finished, the party proceeded to join up with the mysterious droid at the center of the complex. "[The doors behind me are unlocked,]" it told them simply. "[The secrets of the Builders that lie beyond are yours.]"

"Alright, remember, be careful," Bastila warned as they opened the door. "Whatever it is beyond these doors, it influenced Revan and Malak as they fell to the dark side. Don't let it do the same to you."

"Just watch yourself, too," Seth replied.

"I'm more worried for you than I am for myself. You haven't had enough training to resist temptations."

Seth just rose his eyebrows skeptically, but otherwise did not say a word. He instead peered into the dimly lit room beyond, which was bare aside from one three-sided structure, perhaps four feet tall. "Whaddaya think that is?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I have no idea. Perhaps some memorial to those 'Builders.'"

"Isn't that what this entire place is?" Carth reminded her.

"I'm just putting ideas out there!" she defended haughtily.

Seth started to walk toward it; the others followed tentatively. He held a hand out in front of it, focusing his senses on the strange object. A mechanical noise startled him, and he jumped back, bumping into Mission. "Sorry," he muttered, glancing down at Mission's arms, which had instinctively wrapped around his waist.

She dropped her hands hastily, glancing away. "Yeah, I am too."

He shook his head frustratedly, but his attention was, luckily, caught by something else. The three sides making up the structure opened, projecting an incredibly detailed image in front of them.

"Hey, that's the galaxy!" Mission said. She pointed to a star system. "Look, here's Dantooine! And Manaan! And Korriban... Kashyyyk... Look, Tatooine!"

"Is it a map to the Star Forge?" Carth asked.

"I don't know," Bastila murmured thoughtfully. "It's incomplete, however. We couldn't find our way to anywhere, Star Forge included, with this."

"Well that's great," Seth grumbled. "What use is an incomplete map?"

Zaalbar shook his head. "[It's quite useful when paired with other maps. I remember Shadowland hunters coming back with stories of ancient alien technology. I think that each of the worlds Mission pointed out might fill in this map's missing pieces.]"

"He's right," Bastila agreed, nodding her head. "We know Malak and Revan went to Kashyyyk and Korriban before their fall. Who's to say they didn't visit Manaan or Tatooine as well?"

"So now what?" Seth asked. "The Council surely doesn't expect us to travel across the galaxy to collect the rest of the information, do they?"

"No," Bastila replied. "They likely expect much more."

* * *

Saul Karath eyed the man in front of him cautiously. The Sith troopers who had escorted him from the hangar of the _Leviathan_ now stood a good ten yards away, well aware of his reputation. "And how did you manage to survive our bombardment?" Saul asked wonderingly.

Calo Nord lifted his chin, letting it jut out a bit. "I was inside the estate of Davik Kang at the time of the bombing. The place was so well fortified that when the rest of the planet was turned to rubble, I was safe inside, although unconcious."

"Our apologies, Mr. Nord," Saul replied. "We wished only to stop the Jedi Bastila from escaping the planet, and Lord Malak believed we were running out of options."

"Well, you certainly failed at that, Karath," Calo said bitterly. "The little wench escaped with the help of some Onasi guy, a Mandalorian, a Wookiee, and some kids."

"Onasi...?" Saul's anger flared at the mention of the man. "Lord Malak will have my head."

"Ah. Well, you see, that is the reason I bothered to come within range of your tractor beam. I _am_, as you may know, the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. The Jedi and her companions are the only ones who've ever gotten away from me. I have a score to settle, and you want them dead. Perhaps we could strike a deal?"

Saul stroked the week's worth of stubble he'd grown in consideration. "I'll speak to Lord Malak. Come with me." As they walked toward the bridge, Saul's lips curved into a devious smile. Carth would have fun with this one.

* * *

As Carth brought the _Ebon Hawk_ into hyperspace, it seemed the entire crew was excited to leave. After spending so much time on Dantooine, everyone was looking forward to the change of scenery.

Everyone except Seth, apparently.

Mission had just finished giving Juhani one of her welcoming pep talks when he'd shuffled out of the Cockpit and towards the cargo hold distractedly. By the way his shoulders were slumped, she could tell something was bothering him.

The twi'lek girl turned to the cathar and smiled. "Sorry, I'll be back."

"Do not bother," Juhani replied. "He is obviously upset, and I can already tell he responds best to your encouragement."

She shrugged. "I can relate, I guess." Mission turned around and headed for the cargo hold. Upon reaching the open doorway, she knocked on the inside of the doorframe.

Seth looked up from his sitting position atop one of the plasteel crates. "Hey," he said.

"What's up?" she moved to join him, and he scooted over to allow her room.

"Nothing, really. Just sorta..."

"Distracted. Yeah, I know. What's your deal?"

"It's the whole deal, Mission," he said quietly. "This entire quest. The Council said directly that the entire galaxy is riding on my shoulders. I'm sixteen, Mission. I'm still a kid, no matter how much I don't want to admit it. I'm not supposed to have this much responsibility yet."

"You know you have others who will gladly share the burden, Seth. This mission was given to you and Bastila, but look at the crew of this ship. There are others who are here because they want to help you. Some because they love you. Carth, Big Z, Juhani..."

"You?" he asked, blue-green eyes intently looking at her.

"I..." she stuttered, trying to think of something to change the subject.

But his lips were on hers before she could think of anything. The kiss was gentle, sweet, and everything she needed to sent her head spinning and bring butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. "Thanks, Mish," he whispered.

"You're... welcome?" she let out breathlessly. With a single kiss, she knew the feelings she'd rejected had come back again. Looking up into the blue-green eyes once again, she brushed dark brown hair out of his face and kissed him again, letting it go a little deeper than the last one had. They had a few hours before they would reach Manaan.

She was now, more than ever, _definitely_ excited for a change of scenery.


	14. Sweet Spots and Surprises

Mission had always hated the process of waking up. Her conciousness slowly regained its bearings, but she managed to keep her eyes squeezed shut fro a few minutes before a reluctant decision to physically get up.

She exemplified that now, defiantly rolling over and snuggling further into whatever it was she'd been sleeping on. It was only when she felt tightened pressure on her waist that Mission let herself crack an eye open cautiously. She was lying against someone, and that someone, to her horror, was Seth. Mission jerked her head upright, feeling her cheeks grow hot as Seth chuckled amusedly. He was sitting on the floor of the cargo hold, resting against a few plasteel containers, and she was somehow in his lap.

"What happened?" she asked.

You fell asleep," Seth replied simply. "I couldn't wake you up."

"You _couldn't_ wake me up?" Mission repeated dubiously.

He shrugged. "I wouldn't," he adjusted. "I know you haven't slept well since Taris. Any few hours of sleep you can get is worth it, right? Plus, you're absolutely beautiful wihen you sleep." He winked before kissing her forehead gently.

"Only when I sleep, huh?" she deflected minor discomfort with a joke.

"What?" Seth asked incredulously. "No! No, I didn't mean it like that!"

She silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Relax, I know what you meant." She paused for a moment, running her hand through his hair, which had gotten much longer since Taris. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"For what?" Seth arched his eyebrow confusedly.

"For the compliments. I really mean it. I never really got that before you came alont, and all of a sudden you have me feeling... I don't know."

Seth just sat there, and Mission, already out of her comfort zone, worried that she may have pushed it too far. But eventually he gave her one of his heart throb grins, and shook his head. "I don't know what I'm feeling either," he admitted. "But it's better than anything I've ever felt before."

Well _that _wiped the whole Drea problem out of Mission's mind. She leaned in, pulling his head forward with her hand tangled in his hair and brought their lips hardly an inch apart, when a familiar wookiee grunt forced them apart. Mission glared at Zaalbar, but secretly was grateful that he out of all the_ Ebon Hawk's_ crew was the one to interrupt them rather than Bastila or the others.

"Hey, Big Z," Seth said casually, as if nothing had happened. For some reason, this angered Mission. "What's up?"

"[Carth says we'll be landing in T-minus fifty minutes. He's calling everyone to the main hold to touch base on the mission and our objectives.]"

"Okay," Seth said, standing up. He brushed off his pants and offered a hand to Mission, but she ignored it, picking herself up off the ground. She was no damsel in distress, and the sooner Seth learned that, the better.

By the time Seth, Mission, and Zaalbar reached the main hold, Carth had already gathered the others around the central console, which was currently displaying an aerial view of Manaan. The surface was entirely covered with water, and Mission couldn't help but wonder where they would land.

The planet's one big ocean," Carth was saying as the three joined the meeting. Juhani scooted a little to the side to accept them into the circle, and Mission smiled thankfully at her. "There are no landmasses on Manaan," Carth continued. "However, the native Selkath have built a massive city above the water to accept offworlders. Ahto City is the central hub of the galaxy's kolto trade, and enforces a strict neutrality law."

"Neutrality?" Canderous repeated, dumbfounded.

"Both the Republic and the Sith have a presence in Ahto City," Bastila explained. "The laws of Manaan prohibit violence of any kind. If you so much as threaten an invidual, you will be arrested." She looked sternly at the Mandalorian, who shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Princess. It's the Republic pilot we've got here who has a beef with the Sith."

"I have a 'beef,' as you say, with the Mandalorians as well," Carth reminded him through gritted teeth. "But I've been able to put aside my personal views for the better of the mission." He turned to Bastila. "It won't be a problem. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Carth," Bastila replied. "I'm more inclined to worry, however, about our younger companions. Can you put your emotions aside, Seth?"

"Don't worry about me, ma'am," Seth assured. "The Sith were crawling all over Taris, and I didn't lay a finger on any of 'em!" He paused for a moment. "Well, aside from the ones in the military base. But that was because the circumstances demanded it."

Bastila gestured towards Mission. "I meant _all_ of your feelings. Not just anger."

Mission felt her cheeks grow hot with embarassment as Seth grasped her hand. "That's none of your business," he pointed out. The formality was gone, and Mission couldn't feel any more uncomfortable.

"The fate of the galaxy is at stake, Avery!" the older Jedi snapped. "Everything that happens on this ship is my business. Just because she's the only female your age available to you doesnt mean you let your hormones take control. For the sake of the universe, show some self control!"

Seth said nothing, finally remembering rank. He released Mission's hand and stepped back with a hanging head. Mission burned with embarasssment, and Bastila's words had cut deep. Her reasoning for Seth's emotions, that he only felt the way he did because Mission was the only age-appropriate target for his hormones, hurt the Twi'lek far more than any of the Drea business ever had. She continued to think about it for the next half hour as she sat on her bunk, head in her hands. Seth and Bastila were still discussing the possible lovation of the Star Map, so she knew that neither of them would be along to disturb her. However, she had forgotten that the women's dormitory had gained another occupant, and Mission jumped in surprise when Juhani walked in. The cathar glanced at her and frowned. "Is something wrong?" she asked, cat-like eyes showing concern.

Mission shook her head quickly. "Nothing important."

Juhani looked unconvinced. "I can feel your emotions raging inside you. Something's obviously troubling you."

"Well..." Mission sighed unsure of how to begin. "I'm sure you've noticed that Seth and I are... close."

"Considering the situation in the main hold, I would think it is pretty obvious," Juhani replied bluntly. "Such attatchments are forbidden to the Jedi. That is why Bastila was upset, so you should not take it personally."

"Yeah, I know. It's not Bastila I'm worried about. She hates me, and I'm cool with that. It's Seth. What if... So you think she's right? About Seth being interested in me because I'm the only one he's allowed to date?"

Juhani frowned. "I don't know a lot about that... But Seth is obviously saddled with a lot right now. I don't think he'd take the time for a relationship if he didn't think it was worth it."

Mission smiled as she let the words sink in. "I guess that makes sense. Thanks."

Juhani shrugged. "It was nothing," she said modestly. She began to head out, but stopped at the doorway. "You said you were afraid you were the only one he is allowed to date. He's a Jedi. He's not _allowed_ to date anyone. He'd breaking the rules for you, remember that." Juhani shot her a small smile before leaving. Mission flopped back onto her bed, giddy after her talk with the Cathar, and let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

"What's so funny?"

She looked up to see Seth leaning againse the doorframe, hands in his jacket pockets. His hair was styled down because it had grown too long for the fauxhawk, giving his youthful appearace a more rugged look. His bangs swept doen just barely over his eyes, causing his to tosss them aside with an occasional shake of the head in order to see.

Mission sat up with a smile. "Nothing importatnt. The boys' dorm is that way." She pointed behind him, down the hallway.

"I know, Carth sent me down here to get you. You're shore party for this mission. Along with him, Bastila, Juhani, and me." He let his eyebrows rise at the mention of himself, and a suggestive smile crept onto his face. "I heard that Manaan has amazing sunsets. And great food. What do you think of dinner toinight?"

"Just you and me?" she asked as he sat next to her on the bunk.

Seth shrugged. "Yeah."

She smile playfully, sliding a hand across his shoulder and around the back of his neck. She felt his hair rise at her touch, a fact that she was actually quite proud of. "What makes you think I'd want to go on a date with you?"

He grinned. "I don't know," he said, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I guess I'm just hopeful."

"Well, I'd love to," Mission told him before pressing her lips to his. He leaned into the kiss earnestly, tenderly running his hand down her lekku. A sensation of electricity coursed through her body at his touch, and she gasped sharply as she clutched his body so tightly that her knuckles went white. He pulled back quickly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Mission nodded. He sighed with relief, running his fingers along her lekku once again and causing Mission to bite back a moan. "Seth..." she breathed, giving him a meaningful look. "You're killing me, here." She figured that, now that he'd discovered the sensitivity of her lekku and the pleasurable sensation it gave her, they would have to set boundaries in their relationship. Right now, she felt that it was still relatively innocent, but Seth still was a sixteen year old boy. They needed to be careful.

His eyes widened with realization. "Oh."

At that moment, T3 rolled in, a surprised sounding whir emitting from his vocabulator when he saw Seth hovering over Mission, who was halfway laying down on the bunk. He beeped a hurried message and rolled back out quickly, nearly hitting the doorframe in his hurry to leave the room. If a droid could show emotion, Mission could have sworn she'd just seen embarassment.

Both teens took a moment to collect themselves. "We'd better go," Seth said reluctantly. "T3 said they were waiting on us." Mission nodded, grabbing her blaster from her footlocker and holstering it. He grinned at her. "So I guess I found a sweet spot there, huh?"

She arched an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You know..." Seth reached forward and gently stroked the length of her lekku with the tips of two fingers. She shuddered with pleasure. "_That_ sweet spot."

"Seth Erich Avery!" she exclaimed, and he ducked to avoid the fist swinging dangerously toward his shoulder with a laugh.

* * *

After following the extremely confusing directions of the Republic soldier at the dock for over an hour, the group had finally found the Republic Embassy in Ahto City. Although the others seemed annoyed by it, Seth hadn't been bothered by their journey to the Embassy. He found the city facinating, albeit confusing, and the winding trip through it offered many sights, most of which he excitedly pointed out to Mission. With his childhood on Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant, and hers on Taris, both teens found the sight of the ocean nothing short of incredible. Seth found himself unable to wait for the sunset, which had been advertised in a travel brochure they had received, and he was especially excited to share it with Mission.

For now, however, he had to sit through Roland Wann's list of excuses as to why they couldn't travel down to the ocean floor. He quietly put his hand out to the side, focused his senses, and began to nonchalantly levitate as spare ammo clip with the Force.

"Break into the Sith Embassy?" Bastila's questioning tone of voice shattered Seth's concentration, and the ammo clip clattered to the durasteel flooring. He was suddenly aware of all eyes on him, Bastila's furious gaze, and Mission and Carth's quiet snickering from behind him.

"Must've... fell. Or something," he muttered, calling it back into his grip using the Force. He tucked the clip safely into the ammo pouch next to his holster and lightsaber. "So!" He clapped his hands together loudly in the way that always caused those around him to jump in surprise. "You want us to break into the Sith Embassy?" He didn't wait for Wann's answer. "You picked the right team. Breaking and entering is our specialty."

"Ironically, he's right," Carth murmured.

"Breaking in is the easy part," Wann replied. "Once you're in, you have to locate our stolen droid and break out with its data."

"Then you'll help us find the Star Map?" Juhani asked.

"I'll tell you what I know about it," he replied. "No promises on actually finding it. If it even is what you're looking for."

"This deal is feeling very one sided," Mission muttered. Bastila shot her a warning look, to which the Twi'lek rolled her eyes.

"We'll do it," Bastila told the representative, looking at Seth for approval of the plan. He nodded slowly. Although they were both Padawans, now equal in rank, he still looked to her as a superior officer, as well as Carth. It felt odd not to have to answer to them.

"Excellent!" Wann said, a bright smile contrasting with his dark features. "We've already come up with three ways to break in, if you'll hear them."

Bastila nodded. "Of course."

"We captured a Sith spy snooping around our Embassy the other day. We've been trying ot get him to reveal the password to the Sith Embassy, but to no 's a tough nut to crack, but perhaps you'll have more luck. Feel free to interrogate him. He also had an encrypted passcard on his person, which our techs are currently attempting to decrypt for our use. That card is your second option, though it may take some time to decrypt."

"And the third option?" Carth prodded.

"A more... direct approach. The Sith have a shuttle that constantly travels between the Embassy and their designated hangar. It's heavily guarded, but may be your quickest means of entry. If you don't get shot down first, that is."

Seth glanced back at Carth and Bastila. "What do you guys think"

"Going through the hangar should be a last resort," Bastila pointed out. "I can try to interrogate the prisoner. Juhani, you can help as well. I heard you were good at reading emotions before you... well, I heard you can read emotions." The cathar nodded.

"I'll help," Carth offered. "I've interrogateeed a few Sith officers in the past."

"Your experience would be appreciated, Carth," Bastila agreed.

"Mission and I can check out the card decryption situation," Seth suggested. "Maybe bring T3 in, too."

"I'll allow you access inside the Embassy," Wann told them, hitting a switch located on his desk. The doors opened, and the team walked down the ramp and into the tiny Republic headquarters. One of the soldiers inside stepped up immediately. He couldn't have been a year older than Seth.

"Private Wilkinson," he introduced himself, saluting. "Anything I can do to help you? Do you need anything? Do you want directions? A tour of the Embassy?"

"Slow down, kid," Carth said.

"Yes, sir!" Wilkinson replied. "Sorry, sir. It's just not every day that a war hero and a bunch of Jedi walk in."

"If it makes you feel more at ease," Mission piped up, "I'm the normal one here."

Upon noticing her, the young man gave her a flirtatious smile. "Not every day a pretty girl walks in, either."

Seth, suddenly overcome with an Alpha-male attitude, grabbed Mission's hand and stepped slightly in front of the blushing Twi'lek. "Actually, we needed some directions," he said through gritted teeth. "Where are they decrypting the passcards?"

Wilkinson jerked his thumb to the right, and Seth headed for the doorway that the private was pointing to, dragging mission along without so much as a 'thank you.'

"You here to help decrypt these cards?" the soldier in front of the console asked. "Wann sent word ahead. Go ahead and take a crack at it. The code is pretty tough, but we've got plenty of blank cards if you mess up." He stepped aside. "Computer's all yours."

Seth stepped forward to log into the console, using his old soldier ID. Mission stepped up next to him. "Private Seth Erich Avery," she read aloud. "Age sixteen. Height, six foot even. Weight... you weigh one eighty-five?"

He grinned, flexing his biceps jokingly. "Muscle mass."

"Uh huh," she said, shoving him playfully. "What muscle?"

He was in the process of coming up with a witty comebeck when a soft female voice called from behind him, Seth?"

He spun around to meet ocean blue eyes set in a delicately shaped porcelain face framed by long, silky blonde hair. Oh-so familiar lipse were curved into a smile of disbelief. Seth's breath caught in his throat.

"Drea?"


	15. Interlude 1

**A little break in the main action here! Excitement? Yeah. Because this goes back in time, before the Spire. And Seth turns 16 in this chapter! And I turned 16 myself today! So to celebrate both our birthdays, I'm posting this little snippet of Seth's life before he became the Private we've grown to love.**

**Does that mean that this chapter involves that 'Drea girl' that Mission seems to dislike so much. Why yes, yes it does. Quite a bit actually.**

**So enjoy, because this was really fun to write. :D -Bubbles**

* * *

An incredibly sore Seth avery picked up his lunch tray and slowly made his way through the mess hall. His feet shuffled along the ground, as it hurt too much to lift them up all the way. Every muscle in his body ached terribly, and he had to stifle a groan as he sat down at a table with his friends.

Everyone noticed the problem, however. No matter how much he tried to mask it. Biggs arched an eyebrow at him. "Chewed out by Torren again?" he asked.

"He did more than chew me out," Seth replied grumpily, shrugging his shoulders in hopes of alleviating some of the pain. THe drill sergeant had made the fifteen year old run the obstacle training course until he physically could not take it anymore.

Dyllin let out an exasperated sigh. "What'd you do _this_ time?" she asked.

Seth glanced down at the soppy mess of sludge that the Coruscant Military Academy called food, embarrassed. "I... uh... might have corrected him on some tactics." He cringed at the groans that echoed across the table.

"Again?" Jeron shook his head. "It's our last training day at this academy before we get shipped out, and yet you _still_ manage to piss off the superiors."

Seth held up his hands defensively. "Hey, When your army is outnumbered by the enemy, you should split them down the middle and force them to fight on two fronts! He was teaching us otherwise."

Drea put her arm around his shoulders and smiled her perfect smile. "Not everyone studies the field journals of successful generals, Seth. You know more about battlefield tactics than most people. But it might not be best to let the superiors know that."

Seth smiled. "Yeah, I guess." There she was, coming through for him again. Drea, his closest friend, the most beautiful girl he knew. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in being more than friends; he was smitten with her. But Jeron had already made it abundantly clear that he and Drea were supposed to be an item, even if she thought otherwis. Seth refused to stab Jeron in the back like that.

"I'm _so_ ready to get out of here," Dyllin exclaimed, changing the subject. "To serve on a Hammerhead, see the galaxy..."

"And to kick some serious Sith arse!" Biggs added, bumping fists with Jeron. "Our lives start tomorrow!"

Seth laughed. "Yeah, most teens get a speeder for their sixteenth birthday. I get a freakin' _warship_."

"Oh yeah, the big one-six for you tomorrow, huh?" Biggs said in realization. Seth nodded.

"We'll have a party or something before we ship out," she told him. "The five of us."

Seth smiled at her, then noticed Jeron staring at him with a flicker of jealously in his eye. He quickly looked away from the girl and instead picked up a metallic spoon, fixing his hair in the dull reflection.

"You and that fauxhawk!" Dyllin laughed.

"Too much work, pretty boy," Biggs said. "Just cut it all off, it's much easier." He ran his hand across his dark buzzed hair to prove his point.

"I like it," Drea said with a grin.

"Uh, me too!" Jeron said, smiling at Drea. Seth got the feeling that the older boy could care less about his hair, and more about having the opportunity to agree with Drea.

Seth smiled regardless, and decided to change the subject. "So, which ship are you guys hoping to ship out on?"

Biggs grinned. "The _Mercury_. She's the fleet's newest ship, and you know what that means... Top of the line weapons, navigation, hyperdrive... everything!"

"I'd rather serve on an older ship. When the ship and crew have more experience and history, things go smoother," Drea pointed out.

"I heard the _Endar Spire_ is running a Jedi Op," Dyllin told them.

"Count me out," Jeron said. "Jedi are trouble."

Drea shook her head. "No they aren't. They're the best warriors in the Republic... and could definately give the Echani a run for their credits. And they're good people. I'd trust a Jedi with my life in a heartbeat!"

"Right, um... what I meant was... Jedi attract Sith, and the Sith are trouble. Not the Jedi." Jeron stuttered quickly. "Yeah." He smiled, obviously pleased with his coverup.

"Not all Jedi are good, Drea," Biggs said. "Revan wasn't. Malak isn't."

"Revan and Malak joined the Sith before they did bad stuff though," Drea argued.

"Well, they had good intentions, and they were exactly who we needed to lead the Republic to victory in the Mando wars," Seth said. "But there was something nasty inside them just waiting to come out. Something must have woken that part of them up in the unknown regions. Made them go rogue. But as for the _Endar Spire _situation, I'd be honored to serve with Jedi. They know battle better than most veteran soldiers do. Not to mention that lightsabers are the shizz and they have that telekenisis stuff going on.

Drea laughed. "Serving with Jedi would be the coolest thing, especially when you put it that way!" She smiled up at Seth, who beamed back. How could he _not_ smile when those ocean blue eyes were on him?

"They're posting ship assignments in half an hour," Jeron told them, effectively cuttin off whatev moment Seth and Drea had been having. "We should probably get there before a mob of recruits come to look at them."

Each of the teens echoed murmurs of agreement around the table, and the five left the mess hall for the announcement board in the academy's courtyard. Several recruits were already there, anxiously awaiting their assignments, but they had beaten the majority of the others- the "mob" as Jeron had called them.

When the officer finally arrived to post the crew manifests of each of the twelve warships, a large crowd had formed, and everyone eagerly pushed forward.

"I see my name!" Biggs said, squinting at the papers. "The _Silver Sun_! Drea, you're here, too!"

Seth couldn't tell what any of the names were from his distance, but he suddenly wanted a postin on the _Silver Sun_.

"Mercury!" Dyllin exclaimed. "In your face, Biggs!" She playfully socked the boy in the shoulder.

"The _Firestorm_..." Jeron read thoughtfully. "Isn't that Admiral Dodonna's ship?" Biggs nodded in answer, still silent over the fact that Dyllin had been assigned to the Mercury instead of him.

Seth elbowed his way forward, desperately reading over the _Silver Sun_'s roster in search of his name. He scanned it thrice from top to bottom, to no avainl. The list ended with the beginning of the _Endar Spire_'s crew manifest. And there he saw it, first on the list for the so called 'Jedi Ship.'

_AVERY, SETH E._

Seth's stomach sank as he let his eyes fall on Drea's name under the _Silver Sun_. Suddenly serving with Jedi had lost its appeal. They were supposed to be serving on the ships for three months, followed by assignment to one of the many Republic-held planets in the galaxy for another nine before they were allowed leave. He wasn't going to see her for a year. And if she remembered him twelve months later, a relationship wasn't likely.

Drea touched his shoulder. "Is something wrong? You look upset."

Seth shook his head. "Nah. I get to... Um, I'll be serving with Jedi." He forced a smile. "_Endar Spire_."

"Oh, she said quietly. "That's great. I'm happy for you."

"You don't sound happy," he noted.

"No, I am. I really am," she replied hurriedly. "It's just... I'm going to miss you, Seth." She reached her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly. He returned the hug, feeling his throat constrict.

"So hopefully I don't get in over my heat serving for the Admiral!" Jeron said loudly from behind Drea. The two teens separated quickly to face him.

"I'm sure you'l be fine," Drea told him. "Don't be so pessimistic."

Jeron beamed, happy due to the compliment. "I'll miss you," he told her, following the example she and Seth had displayed only seconds earlier.

She smiled sweetly, revealing her genuinely lovable character. "I'll miss you too, Jeron."

He awkwardly reached for a hug when she did not initiate one herself, and she uncomfortably accepted the embrace. Drea attempted to make it a quick hug, releasing Jeron's body and trying to step back, but he still clung to her. He was obviously unable to pick up on non-verbal hints, and Drea was too kind to tell him up front that she wasn't interested. All in all, it was the most awkward hug Seth had ever witnessed.

"I'll miss you too, Jeron!" Seth exclaimed obnoxiously. Jeron and Drea broke apart much like she and Seth had not five minutes before, and the fifteen year old snickered to himself. _"Yeah, two can play at that game,_" he thought. Drea gave Seth a thankful smile, to which ha shrugged modestly.

The five regrouped about an hour later near the dormitories. Jeron had broken out a bottle of juma he'd been stashing and split it among them. Seth had taken a few sips under pressure, but left most of the alcohol sitting in his cup. Drea noticed that he wasn't going to drink it, and distributed it to herself and the others.

Jeron had taken Drea to the side to converse, so Seth, Dyllin, and Biggs sat in a circle, talking about whatever came to mind. At the moment, Biggs and Dyllin were arguing over the attractiveness of Twi'leks.

"Come on Biggs. Head tails?" Dyllin was saying. "You've gone that low?"

"They're called lekku, and yes, I have," Biggs argued. "Maybe the males aren't so attractive to you, but you can't deny, the chicks are hot. Hotter than most humans, even."

"Only because most of them are willing to dance half naked onstage. You're _such_ a typical guy. You really think green skin is attractive?"

"I'm not a big fan of the green skin, I'll admit. But the red babes are total lookers. And the Rutians... blue skin is rare, but it's _hot_." He turned to face Seth, who'd been a spectator for the entire argument. "Help me out, here."

"Yeah," Seth said, shrugging. "They're hot." He'd never looked at a Twi'lek closely, and he'd never even seen a blue one, but he had to admit that he was attracted to them just as much as he was to any human female. Aside from Drea, of course.

Dyllin rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath curses against testosterone. Seth tuned her out, opting to eavesdrop on Jeron and Drea instead.

"But we're not going to see each other for a year," Jeron was saying. "Don't you wanna make this last night together memorable?"

"I want to make it memorable with everyone, Jeron," she told him. "That's why we're all together tonight."

"No, I mean you-and-me memorable. We could go back to my dorm later." Seth felt his knuckles clench as Jeron spoke.

"Um," Drea stuttered nervously. "That's against regulations.

"No one will know."

_"Come on, Drea!"_ Seth thought. _"Stick up for yourself!"_

"Jeron..." Drea's voice sounded uneasty. "You're a great friend. Really. But I really don't see us being more than that."

"We can make it work!" Jeron protested.

"It's not that I don't think it would work. I just... Don't see you in that way."

"Oh," Jeron replied quietly. "Okay."

"I'm sorry," she said, voice barely audible to Seth. "I never meant to hurt you. You know that, right?"

"Is there someone else?" he asked, ignoring her question. Drea was silent for a long while, and for a moment Seth thought that he'd been unable to hear her answer.

Until she breathed, "Yes."

Seth's heart skipped a beat, and he was unable to focus on the conversation any longer. Someone else? Someone he knew? He couldn't think of any other boys she was close to. She and Biggs were just friends, he was sure for that. Which left only one person. A person who felt exactly the same way.

Seth tried not to get his hopes up, but he couldn't hold back the giddy feeling that overcame him. Just to have a chance- and a large chance at that- of being the one she had feelings for made the misery of having o leave her a bit more bearable.

"Seth!" Biggs' shouding voice brought him back to reality.

"Wha?" Seth blinked a couple of times.

Biggs waved a pazaak deck in the air. "I said, do you wanna play?"

He smiled. "Only if you're ready to lose all your credits.

"What credits?" Biggs asked. "I'm broke. Republic Senate rules. Jeron, Drea, you in?"

Drea shook her head. "I'm terrible at cards. But I'll watch."

"I'm not feeling too well," Jeron said. "I'm off to bed; I'll see you in the morning." He grabbed the bottle of juma and started to leave, but Biggs stopped him.

"Put that bottle down. I've known you long enough to know what you're planning. You're _not _showing up for duty tomorrow hungover."

Jeron almost pulled away, but reluctantly left the bottle with Biggs before heading to bet. "Now that that's settled," Dyllin said, scooting closer to the table, "Deal me in."

The friends traded cards back and forth late into the night, making small talk until they were too exhausted to either think of a new topic of conversation or compute cart totals to twenty. By the time they all bade each other goodnight, Seth was practically sleepwalking. He fumbled with his keycard before walking into his dormitory, making his way straight to the bed on the far side of the room. Sleep came easily, as he was too tired to think about the fact that he only had hours until he and his friends were to be separated for good.

The next day, Seth watched as utility droids carried his footlocker up the loading ramp and into the _Endar Spire_. He'd been sure to pack all of his belingings, what little he owned. The Exchange gloves Jaq had given him on Nar Shaddaa were tucked safely away into that locker, next to his father's shortsword.

Seth stood proudly in his Republic uniform. He'd polished both his helmet and his boots, so that his orange and gold attire would be in order from head to toe. He glanced up at the massive Hammerhead-class vessel, smiling at the ship's name painted along the side in sleek black Aurebesh. His goodbyes hadn't been nearly as hard as he'd imagined. All he'd had to do was think about the new chapter of life that was about to begin, and all the possibilities it held. Hes life was only just beginning, as were his adventures.

He turned toward the ramp, delighted with his new optimistic approach towards his future, when something- or rather, some_one-_ stopped him.

"Seth!" He turned toward the familiar voice and cocked his head in confusion. Drea was sprinting down the loading dock, blue eyes latched onto his as her boots thudded against the durasteel. She barreled right into him, and Seth staggered underneath the unexpected weight.

"Drea, what are you doing?" he asked. "You're gonna miss your takeoff if you don't hurry."

"I can't, Seth. I can't do it." she buried her face in his shoulder as her voice cracked.

He patted her back comfortingly. "Sure you can. You have more than enough qualifications-"

No, I can't leave _you,_" she corrected, pulling back to look meaningfully into his eyes.

"Huh?" Seth arched an eyebrow, utterly confused.

"It just doesn't feel right to leave you without at least showing you how I feel."

"How you f-" He was cut off by Drea standing on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his for a fleeting second. Seth felt his heartbeat pick up speed, and he started to kiss back. But the moment ended just as quickly as it had begun, and Drea pulled away quickly.

"You should go," she said quietly. "Good luck."

"Drea..." he started, but he had no idea what he was planning to say next. He just stood there speechless as she faded back into the crowd.

She was gone. Just like that. All he was left with was the tase of her on his lips and the visions of a future in the corps.

He didn't know yet that his idea of the future was far less glorious than the future to come; and he didn't realize yet that the feeling of Drea's lips on his paled in comparison to a girl that, to him, would be far more beautiful inside and out than his wildest dreams could imagine.

As Seth stepped onto the _Endar Spire_, he didn't know what to expect. His sixteenth year of life had just begun, and what an explosive year it would turn out to be.


	16. She Ditched Me For Caffa

**This is a long-overdue update. Hopefully you guys don't hate me! :'(**

* * *

Mission felt both her jaw and her fists clench as Drea and Seth embraced. She felt like gagging at the way Drea pressed her body into his and ran her hands across his back, although the Twi'lek had done the same exact thing to him earlier, with her hands halfway _inside_ his shirt.

She felt bile rise in her throat at how low Seth's hands were on her back, never mind that he's gone down farther with Mission; his hands had found her rear on more than one occasion.

And she couldn't take any more of it when Drea pressed her lips to Seth's cheek, completely forgetting that he and Mission had spent entire nights with their lips entangled. The Twi'lek cleared her throat loudly. Seth and Drea separated embarassedly. "Yeah," Mission said. "I'm still here."

Seth's face reddened. "Mission, this is Drea Namm. Drea, this is my best friend Mission Vao." Oh, so she was just his best friend, now?

Drea held her hand out politely for her to shake. "Pleased to meet you, Mission," she said sweetly.

Mission pretended not to notice the outstretched hand. "Ditto," she said simply.

Drea awkwardly lowered her hand, keeping an admittedly adorable sweet smile gracing her perfect features. "How are you liking Ahto City?" she asked cheerfully, careful to include both Seth and Mission in the conversation. Seth immediately began to ramble on about the ocean.

Already the Twi'lek was comparing herself with the other girl. And already she felt outmatched. Drea's skin was blemish-free, it seemed, while Mission was constantly worried about break outs and made sure to apply coverup every day on the off chance that Seth would be close enough to notice the tiny red bumps that occasionally showed on her chin. Drea had eyes as blue as the ocean outside, while Mission felt that her brown ones were too dull and boring to attract attention from anyone. She noticed the way Seth liked to run his fingers through Drea's wavy blonde hair, and her hands rose self-conciously to her lekku. No comparison there. Drea was Seth's own species, and there was nothing Mission could do about that. And of course, just within five minutes of meeting her, Mission could see why Seth fell for her during his training. Her personality was warm, kind, and infectious. Hell, the Twi'lek would have probably been grinning ear to ear at Drea if her heart hadn't just taken an abusive beating.

"Mission? Are you alright?" Drea asked, genuinely concerned.

"Mish?" Seth stepped toward her. "Something's bothering you. I can tell. Wanna talk?"

She shook her head. "You guys probably have a lot of catching up to do. I'll just let you do that, ok?"

He frowned. "You sure?" When she answered with a nod, Seth embraced her tightly, kissing the top of her head gently. "Thanks. But remember, dinner tonight. Six o'clock, at that cantina in East Central, ok?"

"Alright," she said quietly. She began to walk towards the door when Drea captured her attention again.

"It was nice to meet you, Mission." She gave a wide, genuine grin. The Twi'lek almost regretted the curt attitude she'd treated her with.

Mission attempted to smile back, unsure if she actually succeeded in pulling one off. "Likewise," she lied.

As she walked away, Mission forced herself to think about her conversation with Juhani. "_He's going to dinner with _me_,_" she thought to herself. "_Not her. He kissed_ me._ Not her_." But the pessimist within her couldn't help but add, "_Not yet_."

* * *

They were sitting on the railing of one of Ahto City's numerous ocean overlooks. He coudln't help but stare in awe at the horizon. Seeing the sky meet the water was breathtaking, and he silently thanked the creators for such beauty.

He felt Drea's eyes on him, however, and turned to look at her again with a smile. "What?"

"I keep thinking that this is a dream," she said. "That I'm gonna wake up back at the Embassy and you'll be gone again."

Seth grinned. "I'll pinch you."

She laughed quietly. "I'm good, thanks."

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Seth asked.

"Are you kidding?" she suddenly sounded upset. "I thought you were _dead! _First the _Endar Spire_ was destroyed, and then Taris was wiped out! Was I supposed to expect that a fresh recruit survived all of that?"

"Well... I guess not..." he said weakly.

"Why didn't you contact me? A simple 'Hey, Drea, I'm _alive_!' would have done nicely." Her voice was rising in pitch.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I've been kind of busy!" he snapped.

"Oh, yes, of _course_! The life of a Jedi is far too important to bother with former friends. Never mind that I cried for _weeks_ over you. I lost sleep, I didn't eat. All while you've been mixing yourself up with Jedi and Twi'leks!"

Seth took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Okay?" He touched her chin, tilting her head up to make eye contact. "I know it doesn't make things better, but I really am."

"It's fine," she sighed. "I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about it."

"I should have thought about you in the middle of it all. I didn't even realize what you might be feeling."

"You were preoccupied with trying to escape enemy-controlled territory and training to become a Jedi. It's alright. Besides, you have a new girl who's into your dorky charm anyways." She laughed.

"Who, Mission?" Seth shook his head an laughed. "She's definitely _not_ into my," he raised his fingers to make imaginary quotation marks in the air, "'charm,' if you can call it that. Every time we get somewhere, I do or say something stupid to mess it up."

"So you _do_ have feelings for her!" Drea exclaimed, grinning impishly.

Seth looked like a cannok caught in headlights. "I... Uh... I never said-"

"Relax, Seth. You can tell me this stuff. We were best friends once upon a time, remember?" She rubbed his shoulders comfortingly.

"I remember us being a little more than 'best friends,'" Seth replied.

"Is that what this is about? I'm fine if you've moved on and gotten interested in another girl. I've moved on, too. No heartbreak here."

"Moved on how?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Well... when I was transferred to Manaan, I was a total wreck. I thought you were _dead_, first of all. What made it worse was that the _Silver Sun_ got into a little skirmish involving an on-board battle. The simulations and training never truly prepared me for the reality of combat."

"Yeah, I know how that feels," he added.

"Well, thank the Force I ended up with a posting on Manaan of all planets," she laughed. "Anyways, I befriended this guy at the cantina when we were off duty. About seventeen or eighteen, tall, curly hair, gorgeous brown eyes..."

"Sounds great," Seth said irritably. "So what then? You started dating?"

Drea shrugged. "Well... yes. I told him everything. That I was a Republic soldier, that I still had feelings for a dead man... well, dead to me at the time... But he didn't care about any of that. I think he truly _cared_ for me. And if my hormones weren't deceiving me, I think I may have loved him a little bit."

Seth swallowed the bile rising in his throat uncomfortably. "Love_d_? As in past tense?"

She sighed. "My superiors didn't approve for... certain reasons. They forbade me to see him as soon as they found out. Sure, we snuck it a couple of times, but there are very few windows of time when we could plan to get together. Eventually, he and I agreed that it was best for our safety if we didn't see each other. I couldn't get caught with him, or I'd be screwed. That was over a month ago, and I haven't seen him since."

"Oh..." He shifted from one foot to the other, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry."

"Anyways, the point is: I've moved on. Sure, I've still got some feelings for you, but I also have strong feelings for someone else. So it doesn't bother me that you're interested in Mission."

"But that's the problem. I care about Mish. A lot. But I look at you, and it's bringing up all those feelings I thought were gone." He touched her cheek, lookeing into her blue eyes with his own intently.

"Oh," she said quietly. "I didn't expect that."

He shook his head frustratedly. "Damn hormones..." he muttered. Seth turned to face the ocean, hoping the view would help clear his mind. The setting sun cast a soft orange glow across the cloudless sky, reflecting off the still surface of the water. It was breathtaking.

Suddenly, realizing the time, he cursed under his breath.

"What?" Drea asked, confused.

"The sunset! I was supposed to meet Mission an hour ago!"

"Uh oh," Drea said quietly. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's my fault," Seth told her. "But I gotta go. With luck, she'll still be there."

He didn't even wait for Drea to say goodbye before he was sprinting through Ahto City. He received several angry shouts from Selkath warning him not to run, as well as a few degrading jeers from Sith troopers. He paid no mind to either party. He kept hoping that Mission wouldn't be angry with him, but he knew that it was a long shot. Not that he blamed her. He deserved every bit of her anger, and most likely a slap across the face... or two. That is, if he even deserved to be _touched_ by her.

He made it to the cantina in just a little under ten minutes, and smoothed his hair before entering. He saw her almost immediately, and cursed at himself as she turned to look at him for ever thinking that Drea was more beautiful than the Twi'lek standing before him.

He saw nothing but hurt and anger in her chestnut brown eyes, and knowing that he was the cause of such pain felt like a knife to his heart. She walked up to him, biting her lip to keep the tears welling up in her eyes from spilling over. Raising a hand, Mission prepared to slap him, but in the moment Seth squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation, she dropped her hand and shoved past him.

"Mish, wait!" he called after her.

She whirled around angrily. "I've waited long enough enough, don't you think?" Every patron went silent at her words, and Mission simply stormed out, leaving Seth standing shamefully in the cantina.

* * *

The _Ebon Hawk_ sat safely in her hangar, the extended loading ramp particularly inviting to an angry, upset young Twi'lek. Mission trudged up the ram and straight into the one place she wouldn't be bothered: the Ebon Hawk's engine room. She ignored the inquiring looks of the rest of the crew, and was silently thankful that Zalbaar was there to tell the others to leave her alone. She hadn't given the Wookiee nearly enough credit for the good he'd done by her.

But there would be time to give Zalbaar credit later. Right now, she needed to get her mind off of things. Her fingers clenched around the handle of her hydrospanner so tightly that her knuckles went white and the muscles in her palm began to throb from overexertion. She paid it no mind as she opened the hatch to the fusion generator; her hands slipped a few times due to the grease that was already accumulating on her hands, but she managed to gain access.

She tweaked several wires, reconnecting them to fix the hiccup that the crew experienced before the jump to hyperspace. Hopefully, the ship's reaction time would be improved by her efforts. The entire process only took about fifteen minutes, but it still wasn't enough time to dull the pain she felt in her chest.

Why? Why did she care so much? She was nearly fifteen, and therefore Mission _knew _it wasn't love that she was feeling. But it seemed like so much more than a simple infatuation. This pain that she felt, this _heartbreak _-dare she say it- couldn't be the result of a one-sided attraction. It felt like utter betrayal. They weren't officially _together_, she knew that. He was allowed to spend time with any person of the opposite sex if he desired. But Mission had figured that there really had been something there; they were supposed to be together, albeit unofficially.

Mission sank to the ground resignedly. She could feel hot tears sting her eyes, and she angrily blinked them back. She would not, _could not, _cry over something like this. Mission bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to prove this to herself. The metallic taste of blood teased her taste buds, but she didn't care one bit. She glanced down at the hydrospanner in her hand for a moment before impulsively throwing it across the room. It clattered against the floor loudly, causing T3 to roll up beeping wildly in concern.

"The hyperdrive is fine, T3," she said curtly. "So are the engines."

He beeped again, this time nudging her with his front legs. The cold metal sent goosebumps up and down her arms, and she shrugged away. She had to drop her angry attitude for a moment and accept the droid's affections. "I'm fine, too. Just a little upset. I'd rather be left alone, though."

T3 let out a long, disappointed _dwooo _before rolling out with a subtle whir of his gears.

Softening up for T3 had broken her concentration on pure anger, however, and Mission broke down under the array of suppressed emotions. One lone tear welled up in her eye, spilling over and rolling down her cheek. She felt the wetness but made no motion to wipe it away, letting it splash onto the durasteel floor and mix with the dirt and dust that had gathered there. It ran between the cracks of the floor, a dirty brown color thanks to the dirty conditions of the engine room, until it fell through a metal grating in the center of the room. Realizing that she was shedding tears over the situation, Mission slammed her fist against the rough plating of the engine, throbbing pain coursing through her hand. She could hardly feel it.

"It's not worth it," she whispered to herself. She couldn't stop bouncing back and forth between a romantic relationship with Seth and a friendship. She had to stay on one side. And Mission knew which side had more stability.

She was done with him. He was a good friend, the best she'd ever had. But he had played her heart one too many times.

Her fists clenched with her newfound resolve, and when Seth had come onboard later that night, she didn't say a word to him.

* * *

It was awkward.

That was the first thing Seth had noticed with Mission when he finally returned to the _Ebon Hawk_. She didn't act angry with him, or upset, or anything like he'd expected. In fact, she went along as if he weren't there at all. She had brushed past him as soon as he'd walked up the loading ramp, walking into the women's dormitory without so much as a glance at him.

He'd called after her, knocked on the door, waited for her to emerge... nothing.

Later, he was fixing himself a meal to satisfy his never-ending appetite when she came in. He stopped in the middle of making his sandwich and watched as she fixed herself a cup of caffa as if he wasn't standing right next to her the entire time. The distinct smell of mocha invaded his nose, enveloping him in the sweetness that Mission often smelled like. Not an overwhelming sweet, but one that had just enough to balance the scent of engine oil she gained every time the _Ebon Hawk_ had engine failure, which happened a little too often for the crew's comfort. She was wearing her nightclothes- a form-fitting white tank top that showed the muscles moving in her back as she prepared her caffa and five-inch black shorts that displayed long legs that were most often covered by her gray smuggler's pants during the day. Seth sighed inwardly. He thought that her anger hurt, but her ultimate dismissal of his existence felt like a knife wound to his heart, one that twisted the insides of his chest and brought him an emotional pain that could be topped by few things he'd felt before in his life.

"Carth, Bastila, and Juhani got the Sith spy to crack," he said conversationally. She knew this already, of course. She had been there for the debrief. But he had to start somewhere.

She stirred a small amount of cream into her caffa wordlessly. Seth took a deep breath and continued. "We're gonna break into the base tomorrow. You have my back, right?"

Mission looked up at him, brown eyed boring into his soul. She knew who else was going; it had also been mentioned at the debrief. Drea had been assigned to accompany Seth and Juhani. She shook her head. "Someone else already has it," she said bluntly, and retired to her room with the mug of caffa in hand.

The next morning, Seth left the Republic Embassy for the Sith Base, with Juhani on his left, and Drea on his right. A full squad. Yet to him, it felt completely empty.


	17. Apparently I'm not as appealing as nerds

**A/N: I have no excuses. I've just been lazy and lacking ideas to spice this up, and finally grounded myself from Mass Effect 3 until I broke out a new chapter. I'm sorry I took so incredibly long with this, I suck! I'm still not satisfied with this chapter, but you guys deserve something as soon as possible. Here it is.**

* * *

"That di'kut spy better not have been lying to us," Seth said as they approached the Sith Embassy. "This better be the right code." He was wearing a casual red spacer jacket, and his lightsaber was tucked safely inside, out of sight. Juhani and Bastila were dressed similarly, though their clothes were shades of gray to even better blend with the Sith.

"He didn't," Drea assured. "That's the right code." She, too, had ditched her Republic fatigues for a simple civilian tunic. Underneath, she wore an armored vest, though they weren't to expect much trouble, as long as they kept up their facade.

He turned his head to look at her as they walked. He had to look down a bit, too. Strange, he hadn't ever remembered being this much taller than her. "How are you so sure?"

She bit her lip, shrugging. "I can just tell, I guess."

"Hush, both of you!" Bastila hissed. "You're just asking to get caught."

"Yes ma'am!" Drea said quickly, turning away from Seth. A month ago, he would have said the same thing, but Jedi Training had caused Seth to forget the formality often. Not that it was needed. As a padawan learner, he was technically at the same rank as Bastila anyways. However, Seth also often still counted himself as part soldier, and he felt a sinking feeling in his gut as he realized he hadn't acknowledged a superior officer.

"Yes. Ma'am." The words were uttered barely above the noise of his breath, and Bastila glanced at him in recognition momentarily. She may have had her moments, granted, she had a _lot_ of moments, but Seth saw a friend in Bastila that nobody else seemed to see. A loyal, protective, prideful person, capable of showing emotion when necessary. He was beginning to break through her icy exterior using their bond, and he trusted the person he was uncovering.

Now if only she and Mission could get along.

They approached the Sith representative at the reception desk outside the embassy. The man, a human in what seemed to be his late forties, looked up at them absentmindedly. "Welcome to the Sith Embassy here on Manaan, for any questions we ask that you direct them towards the protocol droid behind you." He gestured at the droid, whose alert photoreceptors narrowed in on the visitors. It moved its arms slightly in a friendly gesture.

"Actually, we need to get inside," Seth said. "Because we have a... pickup. Of some supplies that-"

The representative dismissed Seth's fabricated story with a wave of his hand. "Password?"

"Red 47," Bastila responded confidently. The representative shrugged, keying the button that activated the door mechanism. It slid open with a hiss, and Juhani led the party into the elevator.

The ride to the lower level was short, which Seth appreciated. He spent far too much time on elevators contemplating his life, and quite frankly, it was his thinking that was going to kill him. They stepped out into a circular lobby, and came face-to-face with an angry, attentive blonde receptionist. "Who the hell are _you_?" she asked. "Identification! Now!"

"We're new here. You don't need to see our identification." Seth could feel Bastila pressuring the woman's mind subtly with the Force. It did no good.

"Yes, I do. Who do you think you are, making demands like that?" She pulled out a pistol. "Identification, or I call security."

Bastila pulled out her lightsaber and cleanly sliced through the pistol's barrel. The shocked receptionist dropped what was left of the weapon and backed up, stumbling over her own feet. A button clicked as she grabbed the desk for support, and an alarm began to ring through the embassy. Within a matter of seconds, silver armored soldiers were crashing into the room, their metal boots clanking threateningly against the durasteel.

Three lightsabers activated in an instant, as Seth, Juhani, and Bastila went on the offensive. Drea pulled out her blaster pistol, holding it shakily in front of her.

Juhani took position at a door on the left side of the room, one of two choke points that the Sith soldiers were entering the room by. As they filtered through, they were met by a flash of blue cleaving through their bodies, and a whirlwind of offensive physical Force attacks. Bastila had taken position at the door opposite Juhani, using both sides of her lightsaber like a deadly quarterstaff and fighting with styles very similar to the Echani. At several moments, she would spin her body three hundred sixty degrees as she fought, letting either end of her lightsaber handle her enemies and kicking outwards with her foot and the Force.

For the few that made it past the more experienced Jedi, their lives were placed in the hands of an eager sixteen-year-old boy ready to truly use the techniques he'd honed for months for the first time. Seth relished in the action, losing himself in the hums of his lightsaber as his quick wrist movements sent the blade spinning around his head. He cut down his enemies like butter, remembering the way that Striker would simply hack into a body. His lightsaber not only allowed for smoother combat, but a quicker death for his opponents as well.

However, Seth's focus on combat had separated him from the rest of the battle, and when one too many soldiers made it past Bastila's firm defense, he was pushed to the defensive.

This Sith soldier was dressed in red armor, and was currently trying to shove his sword into Seth's gut. He swung with heavy, accurate blows, blows which Seth was having increasing difficulty preventing from cleaving straight through his chest.

In his peripheral vision, Seth could see Drea standing fearfully behind the reception desk, gun aimed at the soldier about to overtake the boy. He sighed in relief. It would all be over soon. Drea's shot would wound the soldier enough that Seth could once again gain the upper hand, if not kill him. He would just have to hold on a bit longer...

Yet several seconds passed by, and no such lifesaving shot came.

Drea stood, still as stone. Seth grunted as he tried to push back the soldier. "Drea!" he shouted, gasping at the exertion. "Drea, shoot!" She gulped, skin turning pale, and remained motionless. "Dammit, Drea! Shoot him!" She shook her head, dropping her hands and backing up, mouthing the word 'sorry' as tears welled up in her eyes.

Seth was shocked. And angry. Why would she leave him hanging like that?

He shook the thoughts out of his head and focused all his energy inward, feeling the connection to the force rise deep from within him. He could see the glow of the amount of energy accumulating on his sweating hands, gripped tightly around his lightsaber hilt and pushing back against the cortosis sword. With a focused push, he released the Force into a solid punch into the Sith soldier's stomach. The man flew backward with surprising velocity, slamming into the wall, denting it with his mass, and crumpling to the floor.

Nothing quite so exciting happened for the remainder of the battle, for Juhani and Bastila held down their respective choke points magnificently. And when it was over, Seth had plenty of words for Drea.

"What was that?" he shouted. "He was about to kill me!"

"I'm sorry!" Drea's voice cracked. "I just couldn't do it!"

"You're a Republic soldier! You're _supposed_ to shoot the Sith!"

"It... It's not as black and white as you make it seem, Seth!"

He threw his hands up into the air incredulously. "Sure it is. We're the good guys. We fight for freedom. They're the _bad_ guys. They wanna enslave the galaxy."

"Not all of them are like that!" Drea sounded angry now, jabbing a finger at her onetime flame.

"How would you know, huh?"

She threw her pistol at the ground, and it clattered against the ground with such decibel that it caused minor pain in Seth's ears. "Because I'm _in love_ with one of them!"

The lightsaber slipped from Seth's gloved hand as what felt like an icy dagger wrenched its way into his heart.

* * *

Canderous Ordo was good at many things, and he'd be the first to admit it.

He'd also be the first to admit that the one thing he was _not_ good at was dealing with emotionally charged teenagers.

With Seth, Canderous felt that a simple punch in the gut or terrifying threat could send the boy out of his funk. But Mission was different, and the Mandalorian knew that. He knew that she was tough, and even if it weren't the case, he felt like handling a situation with her like he would have with Seth would not be the appropriate solution to the problem.

No, Mission was different. Canderous particularly liked the young Twi'lek, for reasons he couldn't comprehend. He wasn't going soft, that was for certain. He tormented Seth often enough to remind himself of this. But Mission had a certain undying spirit that Canderous admired. At times, he could see pure Mandalorian coming from the girl, and the fact that Seth had put her into a funk made him absolutely furious.

However, since the boy was not on the ship for Canderous to deal with, he decided to try a different tactic to bring back the Mission that he had grown to like.

She was sitting in the main hold, stonefaced, tracing her finger along a dent in the durasteel repeatedly. Canderous abruptly shoved a blaster rifle into her hands. She glanced up at him, bewildered. "Um.. No thanks. I'm more of a pistol girl."

"It's not a gift," the Mandalorian said exasperatedly, unable to understand why she didn't get what he was doing. "It's for training. Come on."

"I... hadn't planned on training today, Canderous," she said tentatively.

"Doesn't matter what you planned. I planned on training with you, and I usually get what I want."

"Well, if you take what you want by force, then I kind of understand why you get it all the time," she remarked. "Fine, I'll see you in the cargo hold, I'm assuming?"

He smiled for a moment, then shook it off his face. He was _not_ going soft. "Nah, I got something better in mind. Come on."

Mission shrugged, slinging the rifle over her shoulder as she moved to follow Canderous. The Mandalorian led her down the _Hawk_'s loading ramp and to the far side of the Ahto City hangar they had docked in.

"See those bottles?" He pointed to a set of eleven empty juma juice bottles sitting atop a stack of crates.

"You want me to shoot them, I'm assuming," she told him.

He arched a gray eyebrow at her. "Do you honestly think I'd give you something _that_ easy?" he shook his head. "No, I'm going to stack them. _Then_ you're gonna shoot them from the bottom up. Stack falls, you buy drinks. You shoot every single one the right way, they're on me."

"I'm fourteen, I can't buy alcohol."

Canderous shrugged casually. "Then you better shoot the damn bottles."

Mission sighed, hoisting the rifle up. "Not even sure if I'm doing this right."

"You're not. Don't let the butt of the rifle rest against your shoulder like that, it'll kill you on the kick." He adjusted her arms slightly. "Now take aim and shoot. You'll feel better."

Mission lined up the sights with the center of the bottom bottle and squeezed the trigger. With a satisfying _ping, _the bottle shattered backwards, and the stack dropped neatly into its place. She smiled, repeating the motion for the second, and the third, and so on, shooting her worries away.

* * *

"So who's this Sith lover of yours?" Seth whispered to Drea as they traversed the corridors of the embassy. Bastila had broken the two up after their shouting match and insisted on continuing the mission, but Seth's mind was buzzing with questions. And anger.

"His name is Trevin. He's a computer officer here." Her voice was matter-of-fact in tone, and she refused to look at him.

"Is he the guy you told me about before?"

"Yeah."

Seth felt hurt. That she left him for the enemy. That there had been someone else and she hadn't had the courtesy to tell him.

Then again, wasn't that exactly what he had done to Mission?

Drea was the first girl who'd ever made his heart stop. But she was no longer the only one. Somehow, Seth needed to find a way to let that go. He was no longer the lovesick recruit who'd kissed Drea shortly before his deployment. He was starting to recognize the flaws of the people around him, as well as his own flaws. He knew Mission's flaws inside and out- she was prideful, moody, impatient, and introverted. And he loved it about her. He knew how to compensate for those flaws, just as she knew how to compensate for his- his insecurity, his brashness, his social awkwardness.

Mission would have taken that shot without hesitation. He was sure of it. She was fearless. She was strong. And Drea, as caring and sensitive as she was, was not.

This whole trip had become a compatibility lesson for Seth.

They continued through the Embassy with little resistance. What little reinforcements the Sith had had made their way to the reception area in response to the alarm and met their end in the original battle.

The room where the droid was held only had one true soldier, who was impaled by Juhani's lightsaber before he had the chance to lift his rifle. The rest of the Sith in the room shrunk back into their seats. Seth arched an eyebrow. "What's this? A bunch of computer nerds?"

"Don't attack, they're unarmed," Bastila warned him.

"Not like they're gonna do anything to us anyways."

"You're not gonna kill us?" a young man asked shakily, brushing dark curly bangs out of his eyes. Drea's head shot up at the man's voice and she promptly shoved past Seth to see. The tech's terrified stance dropped. "Drea?"

Before anyone knew what had happened, the two were embracing tightly, Drea whispering "Trevin" over and over.

Seth threw his hands up in the air. "Of course." He turned to one of the other techs, who was watching his companion with incredible confusion. "It's just about as weird for us, too. No worries."

"How... how exactly do we deal with this?" Juhani asked.

"Drea, we are in the middle of an operation," Bastila reminded her. Drea hastily separated herself from Trevin.

Seth stepped up to Trevin, giving him a slap on the back. "Trevin, hey man," he said cockily. "Seth Avery. You might know me as the dead man Drea had feelings for. Best of luck to the both of you though, I hear Republic-Sith relationships work out well."

"Thanks," Trevin said through gritted teeth. His cheeks were hot with embarrassment.

"Seth!" Bastila hissed. "Focus on the mission!"

"Right," Seth corrected himself. "You stole some data from the Republic. You guys are trying to decode it right now, actually." He paused to look at the screens of the techs. "And failing, luckily. We're taking that data."

"No way," Trevin folded his arms. "If command finds out we just let you walk in and take the data, they'll kill us."

"They'll kill you later, or we'll have to take the data by force," Seth said. "Same fate all around."

"This is Manaan," Juhani reasoned. "All you are going to have to do is make your way out of the Embassy and the Sith cannot harm you."

"And lose my job?" Trevin asked. "No way. I have a mom and sisters back home, they're counting on my paycheck."

"Join the Republic?" Bastila suggested.

"The rest of the boys could," Trevin replied, gesturing at the other techs in the room. "But command over at the Republic Embassy hates me. Cause of Drea." The girl took his hand at the mention of her name.

"This is taking too long to deliberate," Seth said. "And your whole forbidden romance crap is killing the vibe."

"Do you have any suggestions then, _wermo_?" Trevin sneered.

"You're not in any position to insult me, _di'kut_." Seth jabbed a finger in Trevin's face.

"Really? I'm the one she left you for, I think that puts me in as good a position as any."

Seth's fingers curled into a fist, which he cocked back for a powerful swing. Bastila caught his elbow. "NO emotion."

He sighed. "Peace." He dropped his fist. "There is peace." Seth squared his shoulders. "What I was about to suggest was that I put in a good word for you with the Republic Representative. I speak with the authority of the Jedi, he'll listen. Just give us that data."

"I... um... okay." Trevin moved to a console and ejected a datapad. "Thanks."

"Trevin, what are you _doing_?" one of the other techs asked incredulously.

"They're _Jedi_. If we resist, how long do you think they'll last. Let's just get outta here."

Of the seven techs in the room, five followed Trevin out. "Come on," he told Seth. "We'll take the shuttle back. Manaan authority's probably lined up outside the front entrance after all that noise you guys made."

* * *

"You sure you don't want any, kid?"

Mission glanced at the large bottle of Juma Juice that Canderous had bought. "No thanks, I lived on Taris without booze, and I was fine. Alcohol's not really my thing. I'll shoot up the bottle when you're finished with it, though."

He chuckled, filling up another glass. "Suit yourself." Canderous took a long swig from the glass before leaning backwards to shout down to the cockpit. "Onasi! I'm feelin' friendly today, come unwind!"

Mission arched an eyebrow. "I thought you hated him."

"He's a Republic wuss, but I don't hate him. Like I said, I'm feeling friendly today. I blame you."

Carth walked in. "Don't blame her for anything," he said with a laugh as he filled up his own glass. He took a long gulp before patting Canderous lightly on the shoulder. "You're just going soft."

"Like hell I am!" he argued, taking another sip.

Mission laughed. "He ridiculed me plenty today for the way I held a rifle," she mentioned. "But he's getting there."

Canderous glared at her. "Don't make me regret this."

She shook her head. "Nah, I won't. But I _am_ gonna go finish up a pazaak game with Big Z, if you don't mind. Have your little war-related chats." Mission grinned, then gave the Mandalorian a crushing hug. He went rigid, uncomfortably patting her on the back. "Thanks again. I really needed that today." Without a word, she made her way back to the cargo hold.

"Good kid," Carth murmured, watching her go."

"Yeah," Canderous agreed.

The Republic pilot smirked, raising his glass. "Softie."

The Mandalorian clinked his glass against Carth's. "Wuss."

* * *

"Hey," Drea caught Seth by the arm as she passed him. "On your way back to the _Ebon Hawk_?"

"Yeah," he said. "Um. I'm sorry. For being such a jerk. I don't really know what came over me back there."

She shrugged. "It's okay. I should have told you."

"I really meant it when I said best of luck to you and Trevin. You deserve a guy who cares about you the way he does."

"I know. I'm lucky." She smiled. "Thank you for getting him to join the Republic. And for being the bigger person in the end."

"Yeah, no problem." Seth scratched the back of his neck unassumingly. "It's what I do. Besides, I talked to him earlier. He's not so bad."

"I wouldn't settle for anyone underneath the high standards you set in the first place, Seth."

He blushed. "Oh. That's good."

She sighed. "I'll let you go. Be safe, okay?" She pulled him into a tight embrace. "When you go down in that submarine tomorrow, you better come back up."

"I will. I promise."

She pulled back, smiling. "Good."

"Seth, come on," Bastila said, walking towards him.

He nodded at Drea politely, then continued to walk with his fellow Jedi.

"Although there were several times you let your natural emotions get the better of you, I thought I'd mention that your performance today was more than satisfactory, Seth. Congratulations."

He frowned up at the female Jedi. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "I'm saying I'm proud of you, you nerf herder. Accept the compliment."

Seth fought hard to keep a grin from spreading ear-to-ear. "Oh. Thanks." He swelled with satisfaction in himself, a feeling in his chest that he hadn't felt for a long time. Just like that, his day got better.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Mission had finally finished her pazaak tournament with Zaalbar. The wookiee had won against impossible odds, and she was still unsure of whether he had been cheating or not. She suspected he was.

Everyone had retired to their respective dormitories by the time Mission was ready to crash into her own bunk. Her head dropped heavily, and she cursed under her breath when she realized that she'd just painfully hit a datapad that had been slipped onto her pillow.

It was a simple one, just scrolling text that had been typed quickly as a memo to her.

_Mish._

_Hey. I realized a lot today. I won't go into details. I doubt you'd care. But I'm going down the the Hrakrt Rift Station tomorrow to look for the Star Map, and there's no one I'd rather have by my side but you._

_I'm sorry. I've been a huge nerf herder this whole time. It's about time I accept the blame. That all of this is my fault. So this is my apology. I'm really sorry. You deserve better._

_-Seth_

_PS- It's always been you. I didn't know that until today, but it's true._


End file.
